As a person fills up their car with gasoline or pays their natural gas heating bills, they invariably would be the final link in a long chain of businesses that make it possible for individuals to enjoy clean, economical, and convenient forms of energy. This whole chain is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Several thousands of professionals across the planet work in the oil and gas industry, Paul Favret being one of them.
The upstream industry is majorly responsible for finding and producing crude oil and gas, and it is at times known as the exploration and production (E&P) sector. The midstream domain, on the other hand, is responsible for processing, storing, and transporting commodities like crude oil, natural gas liquids, and sulphur. The midstream industry acts as a link between far flung oil and gas producing areas and the population centers where the majority of the customers are located. The downstream industry essentially features petrochemical plants, oil refineries, petroleum product distributors, natural gas distributor companies, and retail outlets.
The search for oil and gas starts off with aerial surveys and surface observations that are conducted by geophysicists and geologists to check whether an area has the type of rock formations that may contain petroleum. Usually, companies conduct seismic surveys or even purchase seismic data from other businesses to get a better picture of the rock formations underground.
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The crew of the geophysical contractor lays down a line of sensitive receivers known as geophones or “jugs,” on the ground in a seismic survey. Mechanical vibrations or explosions are then created on the surface. Geophones have the capacity to record the energy reflected back as seismic waves from rock layers at distinguished depths. Geophysicists use powerful computers for processing data from seismic surveys that are digitally recorded. The computer assisted data processing creates a picture of the sedimentary structures below, and tends to show both the location and extent of porous layers within these structures.
Paul Favret mentions that both geologists and geophysicists tend to examine the seismic data for the presence of suitable traps, as well as similarities with other petroleum-producing areas. In case the results are promising enough, seismic data is used to locate and drill a well. To drill a well, access to land and the minerals beneath is needed. No type of exploration or production activity can take place without the necessary permissions. A good number of oil rigs are owned by contractors who sell off their services to oil and gas exploration and production companies.
There are many types of drilling rigs. The smallest ones are mounted on trucks, while the largest ones are usually installed on ships or offshore platforms. A few of them are particularly equipped for sour gas exploration, slanted holes, Arctic operations, or even horizontal drilling. The bigger the rig, the deeper can it drill.
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