The oil and gas industry employs hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide and generates billions of dollars in revenue globally each year. It is easy to say that this industry is a global powerhouse.
The industry is divided into three major stages: Upstream, midstream, and downstream.
Upstream is known as exploration and production stage and involves the search for underwater and underground oil and gas deposits. The drilling of exploration wells is the main activity of this stage.
The second stage, midstream, refers to the collection and transportation of crude oil, natural gas, and refined products, usually via pipeline, oil tanker, barge, trucks or rail. This stage also includes the storage of products as well as any wholesale marketing efforts.
Downstream is the filtering of the raw materials obtained during the upstream phase. Long story short, this means refining crude oil and purifying natural gas. The products generated from this section of the process include natural gas, diesel oil, petrol, gasoline, lubricants, kerosene, jet fuel, asphalt, heating oil, LPG, just to name a few.
While each stage is different, each plays a critical role in the overall process. Together all three stages help power the world.
How does the insulation industry play a role?
The oil and gas industry requires miles and miles of mechanical pipe insulation to maintain low thermal conductivity, reduce heat loss, and insulate against freezing temperatures. Low temperatures and high pressures can quickly form deposits that clog flow lines. Using industrial insulation is a cost-effective solution for maintaining temperature and flow rates, optimizing productivity, and reducing processing costs.
The gas and oil industry has been extremely successful since the discovery of oil. As this industry continues to grow and evolve the demand for reliable and durable insulation solutions has never been greater. GLT Products is proud to be a reliable supporter of this industry.
Work cited
Dutta, Sumit. “Introduction to Oil and Gas Industry.” Oil and Gas IQ, Oil & Gas IQ: Global Oil & Gas Intelligence, 9 Feb. 2017, www.oilandgasiq.com/strategy-management-and-information/articles/oil-gas-industry-an-introduction.
