It illustrates how advanced technology has led to fewer dry holes, smaller drilling 'footprints,' more productive wells, and less waste. All of these advances have contributed to a cleaner environment, and even greater benefits are possible. The report highlights 36 specific technological innovations as representative of a much larger set of improvements that have occurred during the last 30 years. These advances have enabled the domestic petroleum industry to increase the efficiency of its exploration and production efforts, while improving its environmental track record. But because of more effective oil field technology, today the 1985-level production can be achieved with only one well.
Fewer wells mean less drilling waste.
Based on the average amount of waste produced in a typical drilling operation, U.S. operators today avoid producing as much as 148 million barrels of drilling wastes annually because of increased well productivity - an amount equivalent to covering 1440 football fields to a depth of 10 feet. If technology development had stopped in 1985, today's U.S. drill pads would cover an additional 17,000 acres of land. New acoustical and vibration devices are being developed to replace explosives for generating seismic signals, reducing noise and protecting human, marine and animal life. For example, the report calls attention to new downhole oil and water separation devices that could increase the proportion of oil that flows from a well, while decreasing by as much as 95 percent the amount of water that must be disposed of. If these devices are widely deployed, as much as 5 billion barrels per year of produced water that otherwise would have been brought to the surface will remain in the ground.