Drilling
This basic drilling method goes straight down into the earth to reach oil reservoirs.
What is vertical drilling?
These structures are built in the ocean to extract oil from beneath the seabed. (hint: what's the name of the category?)
What are offshore platforms?
This thick, sticky form of petroleum is extracted from oil sands.
What is bitumen?
Environmental recovery from major oil extraction damage can take this general length of time.
What is tens to hundreds of years?
Oil production is commonly measured in this unit per day.
What are barrels per day?
This process uses millions of gallons of water and high pressure to crack rock and release oil and gas.
Water depths greater than about 1,000 feet fall into this category of offshore drilling.
What is deepwater drilling?
Surface mining is typically used when deposits are within about this depth of the surface.
What is about 250 feet?
This type of disaster occurs when oil is accidentally released into oceans or land.
What is an oil spill?
This country is the biggest oil producer in the world.
The United States
(DOUBLE POINTS) This measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technique allows operators to track the direction and angle of a well in real time, which is especially critical for keeping horizontal wells within thin reservoir layers.
What is directional surveying?
This type of offshore platform floats and can move locations, unlike fixed platforms.
What is a floating platform (such as a drillship or semi-submersible)?
This in-situ method injects steam underground to loosen and extract deep oil sands.
What is Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)?
This safety device is designed to stop uncontrolled pressure and prevent well explosions.
What is a blowout preventer?
Oil and natural gas together supply about this fraction of the world’s energy.
What is about one-half (around 50%)?
This stage of oil recovery injects water or gas into a reservoir to maintain pressure after natural flow declines.
What is secondary recovery?
Workers on offshore rigs often stay for this typical length of time per shift cycle.
What is 2–4 weeks?
Producing one barrel of oil from oil sands may require this many barrels of water.
What is 2–4 barrels of water?
(DOUBLE POINTS) This long-term environmental risk involves wastewater from oil and gas operations being injected underground, which has been linked to increased seismic activity in regions like Oklahoma.
What is induced seismicity from wastewater injection?
This is the biggest oil spill in American history.
What is the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?
This advanced recovery method uses heat, chemicals, or CO₂ and can increase oil extraction by 30–60%.
What is tertiary or enhanced recovery?
This floating system both processes and stores oil before transferring it to tankers.
What is an FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit)?
Oil shale must be heated to approximately this temperature (in °F) to produce usable oil.
What is about 900°F?
This specific failure point in offshore drilling involves the inability of a critical seabed safety device to seal the well, as highlighted in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
What is blowout preventer failure?
This was the highest ever recorded price for a barrel of oil.
What is $147.27. (Count it if it's less than $3 away)