HORIZONTAL DRILLING
An Underrated Innovation
When the media talks about retrieving the abundance of shale oil and natural gas found in recent years, they often overlook an important technology that made it possible. Recovering such oil and gas requires a combination of two technologies: hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracking”) and horizontal drilling. Most articles praise fracking and forget about horizontal drilling, which is a key aspect in the advancement of drilling. Fracking technology has been in use for around 60 years while horizontal drilling is a newer technology that continues to advance [1]. The bulk of fracking advances in recent years were created to make accommodations for horizontal wells [2].
Horizontal Verses Vertical
Horizontal drilling is the process of drilling vertically down from the surface then changing directions in order for pipe to lay horizontal and recover oil or gas in locations that are not accessible through vertical drilling [3]. Before this innovation there were only vertical wells. This meant that drillers could only extract oil from directly below…show more content… As drilling technology has advanced, the amount of imported oil has decreased. The magnitude of oil imports in America directly effects our dependence on Middle Eastern countries. This dependency can lead to potential regional conflict and US involvement overseas which leaves our country vulnerable to a weakened military and economy [4]. Horizontal drilling has benefitted the United States by giving us the ability to produce an abundance of oil, thereby reducing the quantity of oil that is imported. In 2013, the United States was able use domestic energy to satisfy 84 percent of the country’s energy needs [5]. As we continue to increase that percentage, natural energy, such as shale oil and natural gas, will be more of a necessity to increase domestically produced