CHAPTER 22
Oil wells and Natural Gas
by Henry McCoy
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Introduction
Petroleum (oil) and natural gases are formed in rock formations from the decomposing of organic materials over an extensive period of time. The United States’ oil industry began in 1859 at Oil Creek, Pennsylvania. Drillers began scouring the land looking for similar geographical features as that of Pennsylvania. Texas and Louisiana seemed the least likely places to find petroleum, but in 1901 their thoughts changed.
"Eureka, Black Gold!"
In 1901, oil was found in Spindletop, Texas. Soon thereafter, oil was struck in Louisiana. Near Jennings, Louisiana a massive gusher was found in a subsurface salt dome. Three years later, oil and gas were found near Caddo Lake just outside of Shreveport. Today, the Caddo-Pine Island Oil and Gas Field has produced more than 300 million barrels of oil plus natural gas. Petroleum was mostly found in anticlines, structural domes, and faults. Gas near Monroe was discovered quickly thereafter, creating the Monroe Gas Field, which has produced more than six trillion cubic feet of gas. Consequently, oil and natural gas strikes began spreading throughout North Louisiana. By the end of 1996, Louisiana had 20,245 active oil wells and 12,961 active gas wells
Offshore Drilling
Exploration of oil and natural gas began offshore in the mid 1930’s. The initial well was completed more than one mile south of Cameron Parish in ten-foot marshland waters. Before long, construction of tremendous offshore platforms had become an important industry in South Louisiana. The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has become the major area in growth of Louisiana’s petroleum industry. Technology designed in the Gulf of Mexico to increase oil production is now in use around the world. The rotary drill bit was designed to enable more wells to be drilled from one platform. With this invention, drillers were able to drill at an angle instead of straight down allowing for more possible finds.
Refineries
In Port Arthur, Texas during 1901, the first southern refinery was built. Numerous other refineries began appearing along waterways of Texas and Louisiana. The refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, built in 1909, is the largest among Texas and Louisiana. Petrochemical plants became abundant to the area because of the prodigality of natural gas, water, and nearby waterways for transportation. With the large refinery complex in Baton Rouge as well as in Lake Charles, more jobs became available in the industry.
Employment in the Industry
The oil and natural gas industry peaked in 1982, and directly employed well over 165,000 people. An excess of 95,000 citizens worked in petroleum exploration and production alone. By 1990, employment had dropped to 115,000 due to the automation of most tasks. But, 54,000 of these were involved in production, 11,500 in refining, and 10,000 in marketing. Employment may have decreased because of technology, but many more jobs became available due to the sudden need of petroleum and natural gas. The rush to build offshore rigs put a number of men and women to work. Whether they worked directly on the construction or starting a small business selling equipment, unemployment plummeted.
Environmental Concern
Because of the petroleum industry, the environmental concern for Louisiana has become drastic. Remember that petroleum is a fossil fuel, and there is the likelihood that the resources will be depleted. In the event of depletion, numerous facilities and pipelines will be shutdown causing economic stagnation. With offshore drilling, there is the problem with wave erosion. Approximately 25 square miles of land are lost annually. Also, Louisiana is ranked high among air and water pollution. With so many industrial plants burning excess oils and gases along with draining contaminated water, Louisiana and Texas are the two highest polluting states. The good news is that pollution has decreased a significant amount since the 1980’s. In addition to pollution, there is the question of safe means of hazardous waste disposal. Currently there are hundreds of waste disposal sites in the state of Louisiana, many of which have not been inspected. (see chapter xx for further information on the environment)
Some additional reading via the internet: