The price of oil per barrel can fluctuate wildly due to various conditions such as global conflicts, supply and demand, and environmental concerns. As society adapts the oil and fuel industry must also adapt with it in order to keep up with current trends. Here are some ways that new technology and other factors have changed this booming industry in recent years.

Oil-Finding Software

Modern prospecting has changed the way fuel companies like Small & Sons Oil Dist Co find their resources. Thanks to new geological software, the ground can be scanned over large swaths of land all at once using special ground x-ray equipment that feeds the readings into a software program. This software can readily identify areas of land that are rich with oil, eliminating the need for endless prospecting that can cost companies a large amount of money. Instead, the software projects digital images showing spots where oil is buried deep underwater or in the ground. This translates into making finding oil much easier, and it also eliminates the need for several jobs involving the manual hunt for oil.

Remote Access

Oil can be found in some extremely remote areas in the world including Alaska, the Arctic Circle. Russia, and various locations far offshore. With remote access, oil rigs can be sent out and set up easily and then controlled from afar using robotic-operated machinery. This eliminates the need for a large number of workers required to manually retrieve the oil. Instead, a few technicians can help locate the remote areas, set the rig up, and then send commands to the machines via network signals and controllers. For the people working on the job site, video conferencing is used to allow for better communication between employees at other locations.

New Oil Access Techniques

In the past, only some of the earth's oil could actually be retrieved. But today, new methods allow companies to extract more oil resulting in larger volumes of output. One technique involves breaking up or fracturing rocks by applying high amounts of pressure. This pressure creates small cracks that can help increase the output of oil and other natural gasses from deep within. Another method uses salt water inside of a reservoir that can literally force trapped oil out of the pores of large rocks. This ensures that as much oil as possible is being retrieved from places once thought impossible to access. Thanks to these new developments in the oil and fuel industry, consumers can reap the benefits of a greater supply at a lower cost.