A Few New Technologies for Oil Production

The following excerpt is taken from an article at Oilprice.com. The article discusses some fairly new technologies for exploration, drilling, and re-drilling wells (iteratively and recursively). 3D seismic technology finds and better characterizes more wells. New drilling technologies allow for more precise tapping of complex deposits, and for deeper offshore wells.

...state of the art, “reflective seismic technology” allows us to easily find oil pools, with pin-point sniper accuracy, that we could never had previously guessed might exist, even a mere 2 years ago. These increasingly more accurate and clear images help us to complete a complete picture of the “subsurface circumstance” that greatly enhance our ability to discover, extract and maintain optimum control of every possible aspect of oil reserves never available to us until now!

...“through-tube rotary drilling” method is designed to allow oil companies to drill a new well through the “production tubing” of an older well. This way, the original well’s tubing doesn't have to be pulled out of the ground by the drilling rig, before setting up to drill the new well. This new technique will save lots of time and money, potentially saving as much as “One Million Dollars” per well...

...Another new method brought to us by the ever expansive science of oil drilling what is now commonly referred to as “Multilateral Wells.” This, similar to a “side-track,” is a new well that is drilled off from another, currently existing well. However, in this case, both wells are simultaneously producing, while in the case of a “side-track well,” the older, original well is cemented and closed off...

...The science of physics postulates that in most cases, the deeper the water, usually the thinner crust beneath and therefore the better chance of pushing all the way through to the mantle. The IODP’s latest feasibility studies have shown that a current IODP research ship could actually use RMR drilling in water with depths up to 9,000 feet with only some minor modifications.

It is further speculated that drilling at the 12,000 feet depth would be possible with the use of an underwater vehicle that could connect the drilling equipment under water and drill from its position, submerged at increasingly deeper depths.... _OilPrice

Much more at the article.

The point being made is that humans are still in the early stage of learning how to extract fossil fuels (in this case crude oil) from the Earth. The concepts underlying the Peak Oil Doom movement are very poorly thought out, in terms of changes that will occur with newer technologies.

Peak oil for conventional crude may occur by 2030, or not. Peak oil for unconventional oil-equivalents such as kerogens and bitumens may occur closer to the year 2100, or not.

More intelligent analysts understand that an economic system that is unconstrained by idiotic policies such as carbon hysteria, will be able to substitute one form of energy for another as the technology allows and the economics demands.