|
Thousands of years back, oil was pumped out of the ground for daily use in the Middle East. Surfaces of boats and other items were painted with oil to make them waterproof. Local lights made use of crude oil for lighting. It was also used in some medicines. Before crude, whale oil was used for lighting purposes. However, use of whale oil had an adverse effect on the whale population. This resulted in more demand for crude oil. The high demand caused prices on oil to rise significantly. Companies tried to look for alternatives to whale oil that would prove long lasting resources of oil. Coal was primarily used as a fuel for sometime during this period. In this period coal was referred to as ‘black gold’. After this highly concentrated phase of coal crude oil came into prominence. It was pumped out in massive amounts from the ground. Early oil wells: The earliest oil well was drilled in the Gulf of Mexico to pump out crude oil. It was drilled up to 100 metres to extract crude oil. Following this, companies began constructing well structured oil wells. Oil wells were constructed in Europe in the year 1920. The highest stakes were made at North Sea in 1969. Scottish water bodies and Greenland were also taken into account as possible sources of crude oil. The year 1988 was a major challenge for European oil companies. The European oil wells caught fire at North UK leading to heavy destruction and casualties. The reason for the tragedy was derived as the failure in the permit-to-work system. The permit-to-work system had communication barriers. Companies made changes in their safety procedures as a result. Life boat stations, emergency master stations, fire extinguishers and other safety equipments were mandatory. Efforts were made for the protection of workers as well as avoiding wastage of oil while pumping. Today, the oil industry has evolved and has top safety equipment and the latest technology for efficient pumping of crude. Safety policies have also undergone major changes in the last decade. While the industry is not completely devoid of accidents, the percentage of accidents and the threat risk to workers has certainly gone down. Company workers have to attend all meetings regarding safety procedures so as to avoid stepping in the way of any harm. All policies regarding safety are properly documented and are easy to access for the workers. While the oil prices still fluctuate as before, the safety of the workers has increased. The oil price keeps on escalating by its huge demand. Kyles Humphrey is an experienced columnist in oil related fields, who frequently writes articles related to oil prices & indexes and crude oil including tips on investment in oil. Please visit oil.com for more details.
Related Articles -
oil investment, investment in oil, oil investments,
| 
