Every spring and summer, oil prices make the news once again, and this year is no different. Last time we checked, on March 6th, gas prices had risen for 39 consecutive days. The question everyone is asking is: Why?
Pundits blame political tensions in the Middle East and speculation in the markets for the pain at the pump. You can read more about that over at LATimes.com. Another factor is, of course, consumption. Though the United States makes up 5 percent of the world’s population, we use 25 percent of the world’s production of oil (though China and India are quickly catching up as their economies continue to prosper). Finally, analysts tie the problem of prices in to the weak U.S. dollar. Commodity investors drive up oil prices when they flee the dollar and invest instead in oil futures.
All of the reports on this trend come to the same conclusion: America must demand greater energy independence. So how does this goal affect reservoir engineers?
Oil investors and drilling companies understand that the race to find new technology that will eventually replace their product is truly on. As a result, they want to “make hay while the sun shines” and begin exploring fields immediately. This surge in exploration means that reservoir engineers are being called upon to manage even more data—even faster than before.
New demand means more challenging drilling
One example of this: Petrobras. A recent report from CNN.com states that the Brazilian drilling giant will need all the help they can get from reservoir simulation software. Their new fields, located in deep waters like the Santos Basin, far off the shore of Sau Paulo, require tricky drilling in a 6,000-foot thick salt layer.
Tecplot RS helps engineers manage more reservoir data faster
The good news: They can.
Tecplot RS, our reservoir simulation software, allows engineers to visualize huge amounts of data faster and more accurately than any other post-processing tool, greatly increasing reservoir engineers’ productivity.
We help companies do more, faster—every day.