Oil Industry and Technology

West Texas Crude. In 1939, a huge discovery launched the Permian Basin of West Texas into one of the country’s first major domestic oil sources. By the 1980s, the local town of Midland boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in the U.S. But shortly afterwards, when oil prices crashed, Big Oil left the region. But thanks to recent advancements in something called “Carbon Dioxide Injection” technology, West Texas is once again a major source of domestic oil production. Companies using this new technology, like Occidental Petroleum, Arena Resources, and Permian Basin Royalty Trust, have gone up as high as 1,698% (Arena), 1,126% (Occidental) and 438% (Permian).

The Alberta oil sands. Did you know that oil production first began in Alberta’s oil sands region as far back as the 1960s… and that those operations were also halted when oil prices bottomed out in the 1980s? But when “SAGD” technology was developed 2 decades later, it allowed companies to go back into the region. Today, it’s one of the richest and most productive oil fields on Earth. Companies employing this new technology like Suncor, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, and Imperial Oil – have all shot up 4,962% (Suncor), 1,400% (Can. Oil Sands), and 1,043% (Imperial).

The Gulf of Mexico. The same thing happened in the Gulf of Mexico… a major source of domestic oil in the 1970s and 80s. Again, most of the projects there were abandoned when oil prices crashed in the 1990s. Then, the introduction of “3-D Seismic” technology rejuvenated the region, and early investors made a fortune. Companies using this new technology, like Anadarko Petroleum, Stone Energy, and ConocoPhillips, went up as much as 388% (Anadarko), 292% (Conoco), and 229% (Stone).

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