21 OCTOBER 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Dispelling Gas and Oil Myths Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource® The gas and oil industry is complex and often misunderstood. It is a high-tech, sophisticated industry driving innovation and affecting nearly every aspect of today’s advanced society. From your cell phone, contact lenses, and credit cards, to medical devices such as artificial limbs, hearing aids, and heart valves, even golf balls, footballs, fishing lures, and ice coolers are all produced with gas and oil products. Here are a few gas and oil myths explained: Myth 1: The world no longer needs gas and oil - Demand for gas and oil is rising as the world’s population and production of goods expands. Energy security depends on reliable and secure sources which should include renewables, as well as gas and oil. The International Energy Agency predicts oil demand will continue to rise until at least 2026. Myth 2: Companies don’t need permits to drill - Energy companies are required to obtain permits to drill on state, federal, or private land. Permits play a critical role in a company’s ability to produce. According to Mike Wirth, Chevron chairman and chief executive officer, an improved permitting process will facilitate not only gas and oil production, but can also encourage growth in the renewable industry to continue to grow supplies in this country. Myth 3: All U.S. oil comes from Texas - While it’s true Texas is considered the energy capital of the world, the Lone Star State is not the lone provider. Crude oil is produced in 32 U.S. states with Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska, and Colorado providing about 71% of total U.S. crude oil production. Myth 4: The industry only hires engineers - Petroleum engineers represent only a small portion of the industry’s diverse workforce. Geologists, accountants, welders, truck drivers, administrative assistants, pump operators, mechanics, sales representatives, office clerks, electricians, carpenters, and plumbers are part of a diverse spectrum of specialists who have found their calling in the energy industry. Overall, the gas and oil industry supports more than 10.3 million U.S. jobs. In addition to good benefits, the industry is known for its above average wages. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statics, the average annual pay in the natural gas and oil industry is nearly $50,000 higher than the U.S. average. Myth 5: Gas and oil comes from fossilized dinosaurs - Although gas and oil are often called fossil fuels, they don’t actually come from fossils at all. Fossils are mineralized remains of ancient plants and animals. Gas and oil are called fossil fuels because they are comprised of the remains of ancient animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in a marine environment - before dinosaurs even existed. While they may not be as exciting as dinosaurs, these tiny bacteria, plankton, and algae are the producers of gas and oil. Bacterial decomposition removed most of the oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur from them, leaving a sludge of mainly carbon and hydrogen. Over millions of years, the organisms became covered by layers of sand, silt, and rock. Heat and pressure from those layers turned the remains into different types of fossil fuels - depending on what combination of organic matter was present, how long it was buried, and what temperature and pressure conditions existed as time passed. Image courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. G&O
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