Oil Industry Reducing its Environmental Footprint

As the oil industry grows and develops technology and common practices are changing as well. The days of wooden oil derricks and hand propelled pumps have long since past. Now many regions are implementing new laws and regulations that will not only aid in the production of more oil but will benefit land owners alike.

Vast improvements have been made in reducing each well sites environmental footprint. New technology has been developed to help reduce and even eliminate reserve pits, eliminate damage caused to local wildlife and improve the recovery of drilling land.

In some formations like the Bakken, multiple wells can now be drilled on one pad site. One well is drilled and then exploration is carried out laterally to reach different formations. This reduces the need for a labyrinth of access roads and gravel pad sites that would take away from the beauty of the Bakken region’s natural grasslands.

Wellheads are also being buried below the surface so that the land can be restored to its former beauty. Geological contours are recreated, grass and trees re-planted and access roads erased.

Although these new ideas cannot be utilized in every situation, these ideas show promising futures for the oil and gas industry on many levels.