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.
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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.
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