Texas oil investment is as old in tradition as Texas oil drilling itself. It’s an historic endeavor that helps define Texas. The proud oil drillers of the past stem back to the days of the “old west” and up to the glory days of lucrative Texas oil in the early 20th century. However, the pursuit of fossil fuel reserves is not the same as it was in the old days. Today the technology exists that enable a company to drill and extract much more oil from a single reservoir than was ever possible before, and new techniques allow for the capture and transport of natural gas associated with crude oil.
Oil and Gas Investing is Once Again a Profitable Opportunity
Because of newer and more efficient drilling techniques such as horizontal drilling, more oil can be extracted from a single reservoir. And one of the by-products of oil drilling is natural gas.
Similarly to opening a bottle of cola, natural gas is released from a crude oil reservoir when it is tapped. However, in the past this was mostly a wasted product. If there was no market or user near the well, the natural gas by-product was burned off. Because of its gaseous state, natural gas had to be piped to the end user, and that just wasn’t cost-effective with most crude oil reservoirs.
However, new technology has been developed that can capture natural gas while drilling for crude oil. This is big news for oil and gas investing, and for those companies that can use the technology to harness and sell natural gas.
The Fischer-Tropsch Solution
The solution is to change natural gas into a liquid form which can then be extracted and transported via tanker trucks. A process known as the Fischer-Tropsch process uses a catalyst to transform gas to liquid. This chemical reaction process changes natural gas into a liquid form of various hydrocarbons later usable as transportation fuels, also known as biofuels.
Oil and gas investing can be much more profitable with the capture and use of natural gas as a biofuel. Automobile makers are now manufacturing more cars that use biofuels such as natural gas as a result of consumer demand. In fact, 2007 saw over $4 billion invested in biofuels. In 2008 about 1.8% of the entire world’s transportation fuels was from biofuels, and is expected to continue to grow. The result is a huge demand for oil and gas investing and companies to supply the biofuels needed to propel these vehicles.
Other uses for natural gas include electricity generation with gas turbines, domestic use including home heating and cooking, fertilizer, and hydrogen-powered aviation. So you can see that natural gas is becoming a big market. Take a look at companies that are now using these oil drilling techniques to extract natural gas as well. Your oil and gas investing endeavors could result in big profits, and serve a much-needed clean-fuel market.