Visit an oil rig in Texas's Permian Basin and learn how petroleum is pumped and refined along the Gulf Coast
Petroleum exploration and refining in Texas
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
NARRATOR: Texas leads the United States in the production of crude oil and natural gas. More than one-fourth of the country's oil reserves are found in Texas. This is an oil rig in the Permian Basin, in western Texas.
Drilling is very expensive and is often a gamble. Sometimes the drill does not strike oil until it has traveled five miles beneath the earth's surface, and many times it does not strike oil at all, leaving only a dry hole.
If the drilling is successful, the crude oil that is drawn up in the earth is pumped through pipelines or carried by tanker ship to a refinery, where it is processed.
Texas ranks first in the nation in petroleum-refining capacity. From Beaumont to Corpus Christi, dozens of petrochemical industrial complexes line the Gulf Coast area.
Drilling is very expensive and is often a gamble. Sometimes the drill does not strike oil until it has traveled five miles beneath the earth's surface, and many times it does not strike oil at all, leaving only a dry hole.
If the drilling is successful, the crude oil that is drawn up in the earth is pumped through pipelines or carried by tanker ship to a refinery, where it is processed.
Texas ranks first in the nation in petroleum-refining capacity. From Beaumont to Corpus Christi, dozens of petrochemical industrial complexes line the Gulf Coast area.