Where Does Most Directional Drilling For Oil and Gas Occur?
Directional drilling is used to reach pockets of oil from a single offshore oil platform, so that additional platforms are not required. These wells are often not true horizontal wells, but directional drillers are required. Shale gas formations, such as the Marcellus Shale are an important new source of natural gas. There are many here in the United States. The Marcellus shale alone holds over 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Directional drilling is used to bore sideways across shale and also coal beds to release natural gas and methane. Directional drilling accounts for more than 80% of all new gas wells drilled in the Northeastern United States. In areas such as the Barnett Shale, near Fort Worth, that number is nearly 100%. Directional drillers are needed for this type of work, though recently the price of natural gas has been low, thus hampering drilling activity. Directional drillers are used to deviate wells, to correct wells back to vertical, to drill vent holes for coal
