| Remember when Jed Clampett discovered that | | | | drilling). Oil companies have the best |
| "bubblin' crude" on the fanciful Beverly | | | | lawyers who use their expertise to help |
| Hillbillies television show in the 1960's? | | | | expedite the acquisition process. |
| While being an entertaining show that spawned | | | | |
| several spin-off ideas (think Green Acres and | | | | Once issues of legality have been decided, |
| Petticoat Junction), it was not, however a | | | | large excavation machines must be brought to |
| realistic portrayal of the way | | | | the site to prepare for drilling. Land must |
| entrepreneurial oil companies locate, | | | | be cleared and roads must be built in order |
| acquire, and process the precious oil that is | | | | to bring all the necessary equipment to the |
| used in so many ways by consumers around the | | | | site before drilling can begin. Companies |
| world. | | | | must be conscious that they are also stewards |
| | | | of the land, protecting the environment |
| While Jed's methods of discovery and | | | | around the drill site, following specific |
| extraction were luck and his trusty shotgun, | | | | guidelines to ensure that the animal |
| most oil companies today use tried and true | | | | population is minimally disturbed and |
| methods that are quite more technologically | | | | ecologically sensitive areas must be closely |
| advanced, often employing geologists to carry | | | | monitored to maintain their fragile |
| out initial searches. These teams of | | | | existence. |
| geologists study landforms, specific types of | | | | |
| rocks such as non-magnetic sedimentary rocks | | | | Extraction processes have remained mostly |
| that are known to be oil-bearing, and seismic | | | | constant over the years. Using a large rig |
| activity can also be a telling way to find | | | | system and a drill with bits made of tungsten |
| much elusive oil deposits. This is not to | | | | carbide steel or diamond depending on the |
| say that luck was never a part of oil | | | | rock being cut through, companies penetrate |
| exploration. In fact, in the early days, | | | | the rock formations, using sophisticated |
| prospectors simply guessed and dug near known | | | | equipment to determine when the proper and |
| gas and oil seeps (just like Jed) and were | | | | final depth has been reached. Once the well |
| often rewarded amply by the black bounty | | | | has been dug and reinforced with concrete, a |
| lying beneath the surface. But today, we | | | | pump is then installed which creates the |
| should understand that exploration is much | | | | necessary suction that extracts the oil to |
| more scientific, and as a result, much more | | | | the surface. Much has changed since Jed |
| efficient in locating and exploiting much | | | | Clampett's story, but one thing remains the |
| needed oil reserves. Once oil is located, | | | | same: Oil is an efficient fuel and a many |
| legal ownership of the land, right-of way | | | | faceted resource, and we would be hard |
| accesses, and the right to drill, must be | | | | pressed to replace the many products its |
| obtained by lawyers through courtroom | | | | exploration and acquisition has a hand in |
| proceedings, legal jurisdiction having been | | | | supplying. |
| determined (often in question with off shore | | | | |