The State of the Oil Industry Landscape inTennessee

Since roughly 2014, the oil and gas industry has witnessed the amount of drilling and exploration projects skyrocket. Back then, it was at about just 11 counties, but 4 years later and we can say that the number has almost doubled.

As time goes on, we expect these numbers to double once again, prompting stricter regulations in all areas of the industry as we know it in Tennessee.

Exploration and Drilling

Overton County still holds the highest number of drilling operation permits, with Fentress coming in as a close runner-up. The majority of these seem to be standard vertical tests with hydraulic equipment. Fracking makes up for most of the operations in Tennessee since the state passed the usage of this method back in 2013. The main difference between how this is method is used in Tennessee versus the rest of the U.S. is the fact that while other states rely on water to fracture wells, Tennessee has mostly switched over to nitrogen gas to achieve the same results.

While this is the most common method of drilling in the state, we will more than likely see this method expanded upon and further safety protocols discovered and put into play. It is important to note that in recent years, fracking has become not only more common, but also more advanced year by year.

Environmental Protection Concerns

While Tennessee has more than enough natural resources to keep drilling and excavation, environmental protection is still, of course, a large concern. We believe that this trend will only grow over time as more and more states are jumping onboard with a big push toward the same type of concerns. This includes larger regulation of permits, more gas well deliverability tests, and better handling of temporary well abandonment issues.

Employment

Since the boom of exploration and drilling projects in the past few years, this has also driven up the number of available positions for rig workers. As a matter of fact, there are so many openings in this field that the Tennessee oil and gas industry is said to be responsible for a huge increase in the economic arena.

When we say a huge increase, we are talking about more than $5.5 billion in wages for workers in this industry. All this industry activity in turn contributes directly to boosts in manufacturing, logistics, banking, construction, hospitality work, and many, many other economic sectors. This contribution to the larger economy in general is valued at around $10.6 billion.

Learn more about Tennessee oil and gas and get in touch with Hornet Corp today!