Environment in Depth
One-hundred and fifty years after Edwin Drake used the technology of a 32-foot iron pipe to strike our nation’s first commercial oil, and hundreds of wash bins and whiskey barrels to collect it, America’s energy producers have never stopped innovating — leveraging new technology to produce more from less, while investing billions to protect, preserve and restore our environment.
As with everything we do, developments in science and technology remain the key. When oil was struck in 1901 on an East Texas hill named Spindletop, the resulting explosion sent rocks and debris hundreds of feet in the air, and littered the ground with mud, pipe and oil six-inches deep. Soon after, the first blowout preventer was invented, breakthrough technology that regulated and prevented the release of explosive pressure from below. The invention helped create new efficiencies, eliminate waste and better protect the workforce. It was great news for business. But it was even better news for the quality and condition of our surrounding environment.
More than a century later, it’s a relationship that remains intact today. That’s why America’s oil and gas producers have spent nearly $200 billion over the past 20 years to develop and implement new environmental technologies aimed at keeping our air clean, our water safe, and the amount of land disturbed at an absolute minimum.
Owing to a combination of determination, trial-and-error, and old-fashioned luck, the early pioneers of America’s energy industry eventually developed the tools and systems needed to find, produce and deliver America’s energy. Thanks to their hard work, today we have the tools and systems needed to execute that search safer, cleaner and more efficiently than ever before. We wouldn’t be in business if we didn’t. Follow the links below to see how.
