All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S08E01.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
On "Tomorrow's World Today,"
we explore the cutting edge

advances that are shaping
four different worlds.

The world of inspiration,
where the wonders of

the natural world amaze
and inspire us.

The world of creation,
where ideas come to life from

traditional arts.

The world of innovation,
where ideas and inventions

move us all forward.

The world of production,
where innovations are mass

produced to improve our lives.

From Inventionland World
Headquarters, here's your host,

George Davison.

Throughout history, oil and gas
extraction has disrupted

habitats, polluted air
and water,

and generated
high carbon emissions.

Today, however, this landscape
has transformed.

Cutting edge technologies and
a focus on sustainability have

revolutionized
drilling practices.

The industry is now minimizing
its environmental impact.

By using renewable energy
sources and reclamation

efforts, they're meeting rising
energy needs responsibly.

Now, to truly appreciate
the progress that's been made,

let's take a step back in time.
This is Drake's Well.

It's the site of the first oil
well in America, and it's just

an hour up the road
from Inventionland.

And look at this.

This is what the first oil
field looked like back in those

oil boom days.

That's Titusville,
Pennsylvania.

By contrasting these early day
photographs with today's

cleaner and greener practices,

we can vividly see
the monumental improvements.

So I'm going to send Greg to
the world of production to

explore how one company's
innovation efforts are paving

the way for an even
greener tomorrow.

In the last two decades,
technological leaps,

environmental concerns,
and a shifting global demand

have reshaped the oil
and gas industry.

From innovative drilling
methods to an emphasis

on sustainability,
the industry has learned to

adapt and transform itself.

And that's why we're here at
H&P RIG 517

in Weld County, Colorado.

I'm gonna meet up with
Kim McHugh.

She is the vice president of
Chevron's Rockies business

unit, and we're going to
explore how they're navigating

this ever-changing terrain,
both today,

and in tomorrow's world,
and you must be Kim.

I am, Greg.
It's great to meet you.

Great to meet you, too.

Well, Kim, I'm super excited to
get up on this rig, so why

don't we get going?

We need to get you in
your safety equipment first,

so let's go get geared
up, OK?

-Let's go.
-All right.

So, Kim, in terms of onshore
drilling, what would you say

would be the most important
innovation

of the last 20 years?

I'd have to say
it's the evolution of

our horizontal drilling.

So in the past, we would
drill wells vertically

into the ground.

Today, we're drilling them
vertically at over a mile deep.

Then we turn and go horizontal
out as much as four miles.

So what this has done is
actually increased production

up to 25 times what a vertical
well would have done

in the past.

So it allows us to have less
surface area, drill fewer wells

for more production.

Well, I can't wait to see it
in action.

-So can we head up onto the rig?
-You bet.

Let's just remember
three points of contact

up the stairs.

-Absolutely.
-All right.

[inspirational music playing]

All right, well, Greg,
this is the rig floor.

So for me, this is
my happy place.

Most of my career is spent
around rigs.

I tell ya,
I can tell you love it.

We were talking about
innovation, talking about

horizontal drilling and what
a big deal that was for

the industry, but what other
kinds of innovation

and technology are happening on
the rig itself that are maybe

driving the industry forward?

Well, so one of the things is
behind us, this is called

an iron roughneck.

So this piece of equipment
actually makes up the pipe,

screws it together.

In the past, we were throwing
chains, using tongs.

This has made that operation
so much safer.

And we also have data driven
through here, so you notice

a few less people.

So our directional drillers
are actually sitting in

our integrated operations
center, and they are drilling

the horizontal section
and guiding it from there.

So it allows us to get them off
the rig floor into

an environment that's a little
more controlled.

We also do a lot with data
out here.

This rig now can do a bit of
auto drilling,

putting the parameters in.

But I think one of the things
you'll notice is

how quiet it is.

Yeah, absolutely.
I've been on rigs before.

They are loud.

We wouldn't be having
this conversation.

So this particular rig is
an electric rig,

and it's running off of
the high-line power

or grid power.

So this is a great innovation
in reducing emissions,

allowing us in that
sustainability piece to really

drive that forward.

So lower environmental impact,
more efficiency,

more production, and way safer.
-Way safer.

Absolutely.

Excellent.
Well, this is great,

but I need
to get down off the rig now

because I've got a whole lot
more of the ranch to explore.

All right.
Let's go.

All right.

[inspirational music playing]

Hey, Luke.

Hey, Greg.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Well Luke, let's talk a little
bit about what oil

production used to look like
versus what it looks like now.

Tell me about this.

After we would drill an oil
and gas well, we would deliver

our product to production
facilities with tanks on them.

We'd have trucks come out,
pull the oil from those tanks,

and deliver them
to markets in the state

and around the nation.

Today we don't do that
any longer.

We've got tankless facilities
today that use technology

and infrastructure
like pipelines

to deliver our product safely.

[Greg]
Wow, so there's no trucks in
and out 24 hours a day.

That's right.
We've eliminated that traffic.

Excellent, well I'd really like
to see how this works.

Let's go.

So Luke, when did
the transition to a tankless

production take place,

and how have things changed
since then?

Yeah, so we've been on
our tankless journey for

several years, and it varies
drastically from how we used to

produce oil and gas here
in Colorado.

We used to drill wells
and build many smaller tank

batteries in an area in order
to handle and process

those fluids.

Today, we aggregate production
from up to 20 square miles

around us to this
single location.

We're tankless by design here,
which means no truck traffic.

We rely heavily on
electrification to power

our operations here.

We've eliminated any
temporary equipment.

We've eliminated any sort of
flaring, combustors on-site

to handle vapors.
We keep everything in the pipe.

It's more than a 95 percent
reduction in land use

and more than
a 90 percent reduction

in carbon emissions for
our operations.

Well, from what I understand
though, this isn't even

the latest technology
you've got going.

-You have something
new to show me.
-Yeah that's right.

We're gonna go see Gen 6,
and it's right up ahead.

-Let's go look.
-Let's do it.

[Greg] Luke, hit me with
the high points.

What are some of the goals that
Gen 6 is helping you to achieve

that you've been kind of
working through with

the previous iterations?

Yeah, Greg, so Gen 6
is all about more energy

and less impact.

Gen 6 requires less equipment
here on location, so it

lowers our footprint,
lowers our carbon emissions

associated with our operations,
and it also allows us to reach

out further and aggregate
more production

to a smaller footprint itself.

So one of the other big
features of Gen 6

is its modularity.

I think of it like Lego
building blocks.

So for the equipment that
we set on this location

day one, it will look very
different years from now.

We'll move pieces,
parts and pieces over time,

which shrink our physical
footprint and shrinks our carbon

emissions associated with
our operations over time.

And so we're excited to reduce
as we move forward.

Because it is a natural thing
for oil and gas wells to

produce less as time goes on.

So you can actually bring that
facility smaller and smaller as

that happens.
That's absolutely right.

In fact, speaking of
retirement, since 2020,

we have retired more than 2,000
wells here in Colorado,

and we've removed more than
700 surface locations.

Well, where does the energy to
power Gen 6 come from?

It's not still a diesel-powered
generator, is it?

Absolutely not.

So we're partnering extensively
with utilities

here in the state.

Every well on this specific
facility was drilled

using electric power.

And in fact, at the end of
location, we've got a solar

farm that helps power
our operations here on site.

And that's really important as
we talk about, you know,

stress on the grid and energy
demands as they increase.

We're looking at a potential
for 10 billion people on

the planet by 2050,
and they're all gonna require

a lot of energy, but we also
need to give them

a safe place to live.

Absolutely, so here at Chevron,
we believe

that the future is lower carbon.

We also believe that oil
and gas will be a big part for

decades of the world's
energy mix.

So we're doing what we can
today to lower the carbon

intensities of our traditional
oil and gas businesses.

We think that
this project shows

how we're doing that today.

Now, what are some of
the things that you've done

right here on
the Guttersen Ranch?

Yeah, so on Guttersen Ranch,
we have removed and reclaimed

many wells and many facilities.

In fact, for every new well
that we drill today,

we remove between five and ten
from service.

And for every new facility like
this that we build,

we remove eight to ten
from service.

That's excellent,
and that reclamation process is

something that I really wanna
learn more about.

So I'm gonna get together with
Kate and Mike,

and they're gonna tell me all
about it.

Fantastic.

[Mike] This one's turning out
pretty good.

Yeah, it looks really good.

I'm excited to get it opened up

once we get it watered and get
everything backfilled.

-It's gonna turn out
really nice.
-Good.

I think it's gonna be
a beautiful tree

once it's opened up.
Hi Mike.

Hi Kate.

So I got to go out to one of
the tankless facilities

and I talked to Luke.

He showed me all of
the amazing technology

that's working out there.

But most of the older wells
that were on the property,

they've all been removed
and then that land needs to

be reclaimed.
That's where you two come in.

So tell me about that process.

So the first thing we do is
we get with the landowner,

see what their goals are so
we can exceed those.

And then we go on and remove
foreign materials such as rock,

road base, and gravel.

And then we bring in healthy
topsoil, contour the area,

and then we go into
seeding operations.

And that's where you come
in, Kate.

You use both native
and non-native seeds for

this process.
-Mm-hmm, we do.

So we use multiple different
species within our mix so that

we can do a couple of things.

Make sure that it survives
drought and also make sure that

we can have habitat for
wildlife as well as our grazing

animals out here,
which are cattle.

And I guess they're
the final judge, right?

So if they're coming
and eating the grass,

then you've done a good job.

And so far that's been
pretty successful.

Yeah, we've seen a huge
increase in both birds,

antelope, deer,
and then the cattle have been

doing really, really well
throughout the season.

[Greg] That's excellent.

Well, I'm gonna head out
and actually see some of that

and see the fruits of
your good labor.

I'm gonna hook up with Art
and we're gonna take a ride

around the ranch.
Thank you both very much.

-Good luck.
-Yeah, thank you.

All right, get back to
your tree.

-OK.
-All right, thank you.

So we're gonna backfill
around here?

Yeah, we'll backfill all of
this and then he'll cut these

lower branches down.

[inspirational music playing]

[Greg] Well, Art, you have
a beautiful ranch here.

Now, I guess it's been in your
family for about 85 years,

and you don't see oil and gas
production anywhere,

but it wasn't always like that.

We had 650 vertical wells out
here until about

the past 18 months, when Chevron
started plugging

and banding it and drilling
their horizontal wells.

So it gave us our ranch back.

[Greg]
So now you just have the three
rows of oil and gas production.

-[Art] Yes.
-[Greg] No tanks on
the property,

everything gets shipped
right off site.
-Yes, sir.

No truck traffic.

They've put an infrastructure
in, as you said, three rows.

Everything in between there is
now a ranch, plus it's a better

ranch because of
the reclamation that's taken

place with the participation
and support from Chevron.

Wow, so now you've been able to
get involved in reclamation

projects that have really taken
the ranch back to what it was

when it first started.

Better than when it
first started.

We have partnered with Chevron
with their expertise.

They've come up with better
ways of reclamation work.

So where the drilling wells
were, actually are some of

the best grasses on
the ranch today.

And the wildlife and cattle
will actually go to those parts

of the ranch before they go to
the native parts.

Wow, so they're able to feed
in places that

they were never even
feeding before.

Exactly, and the cattle
are happy.

Now we've got some deer
and a lot of antelope

coming in, which
we never had before.

[Greg]
That's excellent, and I guess
these trees behind us are even

a part of this
reclamation project.

Yes, sir.
These trees are a good example.

Without the oil and gas
development, water was tight.

They helped us drill some
water wells.

So now we not only have a real
reliable source for the cattle,

but we can do projects like
the trees, water lines,

a lot of wildlife projects
going on throughout the ranch.

Water was a weakness out here,

and now it's one of
our strengths.

[Greg]
Now, as a result, you've got
most of the land that you had

originally with the ranch,
and you're slowly turning it

back into the point where maybe
85 years from now, this will be

nothing but a cattle
ranch again.

That's our goal.

It's not only gonna be a cattle
ranch, but it'll be much better

than it was 100 years ago.

The new reclamation efforts
and the projects we're doing,

it made it a great place to
live and a great place

to ranch.
-[Greg] And a great
place to ride.

[Greg] Thank you very much.

Let's head on back
to the stable.

[Art] Yes, sir.

-Hey, Kim.
-Greg, good to see you.

Good to see you again, too.
I had such an exciting day.

I got to see the tankless
facilities with Luke,

Mike and Katie took me through
the reclamation process,

and I even got to take a tour
of the ranch on horseback

with Art.
It was amazing.

Oh, that's fantastic.

Now, from what I understand,
though, some of the most

important information that
I'm going to get today

is yet to come
when we head inside.

Before we do that, though,
tell me a little bit about

Chevron and how they define
responsible oil and gas.

Yeah, I would say for Chevron,
it means not just meeting

the regulations but doing
the right thing,

and sometimes that means
going above and beyond.

You want to meet the community
in which we operate in,

but our focus is reliable,
affordable, ever cleaner energy

for the world.

I think that's what
responsible

oil and gas production
is all about.

Great, well I can't wait to get
inside and see how all of this

is controlled from right inside
this building,

so why don't we head inside?

Yeah, let's go
and see our Integrated
Operations Center.

So Greg, welcome to
our Integrated

Operations Center.

You can see around here
all of our screens,

and what we're doing is we're
monitoring these screens.

So what's happening in here,
we have millions of data points

coming in here.

They're monitoring thousands of
wells and facilities.

So this data that comes
through, they're actually

looking to see if we have
any issues.

What we would call "an upset."

And they have capability here
of actually shutting in,

stopping that production,
sending out maintenance crews

to go out and work on it.

So constantly monitoring, and so
it allows our people to really

focus on the biggest priorities
for the day.

But while we're also monitoring
that, we have a room back here

that has people
monitoring our rigs.

What they're looking at again
is data flowing in, looking for

some predictive analytics.

Are we having any problems
down hole?

-And remember how we talked
about the horizontal drilling?
-Mm-hmm.

Well the guys who actually
point that bit and steer

our wells sit in here.
So that's different.

In the past,
we would have had

a directional driller on
every rig.

Today, we can have them in here
monitoring that performance,

looking for those alarms,
and it allows us to get

more standardization,
better performance, but it also

removes people and makes it
safer, because they're not out

there on a day-to-day,
and of course,

we want things to be safer.

Right, now, are you able to also
monitor things

a little further down
the pipeline?

We don't monitor our third
party that actually we sell

the product to, but we stay in
constant communication.

If they're having a problem
or a disruption

in their operations,
they're letting us know,

we're letting them know if
we have facilities that are

having issues and send that
back and forth.

So it's constantly
working together.

Do you think that this helps to
contribute to a lower carbon

footprint for
the company overall?

Oh, absolutely.

For one, when they're
monitoring and looking for

disruptions, being able to shut
the facilities in and get

the maintenance crew,
the supervisors out there

quicker, reduces the emissions.

Also, from the drilling
perspective, the more efficient

we are with our drilling,
we're actually able to do it

faster, which reduces
the emissions

as we're drilling those wells.

Right, from a safety standpoint
too, it doesn't just come down

to the individual
crews and workers,

it's also the community at
large because a lot of

the wells are on other
people's land.

Yes, and so we wanna be able to
monitor them,

because they're quite isolated.

So by being able to monitor
from here, it gives us

the ability to act a lot
quicker than we could in

the old days when you would
have to physically go out there

and check everything.

Right, well, let's kind of boil
this down to the consumer.

-Yeah.
-How is all of this
benefiting me?

It's the right thing to do,
protect the environment.

But the other way is being able
to keep our product flowing

reduces costs for the customer,
and that's really important.

Plus, they need that
affordable, reliable,

ever cleaner energy.
This is part of that.

Excellent.

Well, it's like Luke said,
maximum energy, minimum impact.

Absolutely.
Yeah.

All right.
Well, this has been great, Kim.

Thank you so much for
being here.

Thank you for having me.

But now we're actually both
headed back to Pittsburgh.

You're going to hook up
with George.

So why don't you show me
on out?

All right.
Let's go.

Hey, Kim.
Welcome to Inventionland.

Thanks, George.
It's great to be here.

It's great to have you because
I had this photo come in from

your team and I was hoping
you'd explain what's going on.
-Yeah.

Yeah, so this is our drilling
rig, the H&P 517.

What's special about this one
is it's actually running

off the grid.
It makes it quieter.

We are able to have
less emission.

So it's great technology that
we're using now.

So not so much noise pollution
on the rig.

-Absolutely.
-Great, great for the workers.

-Absolutely.
-How about this one?

I got this one and I was
curious because it just looks

so intriguing.
What's this all about?

Yeah, so this is our latest
generation of

our tankless facilities.

So what's so special
about this?

In the past,
you would have a well

with a tank right next to it.

Today, we can have those wells
without a tank

flowing into this facility.

So it really reduces
our surface footprint by like

95 percent.
-Wow.

And our emissions are reduced
by like 90 percent.

And what's so special about
this one is it's running off

a solar grid.

So all of these parts are
electric, and we're providing

our energy from solar.
-That's fabulous.

So we're tankless
and we're using solar

to give it its power.
-Absolutely.

That's some great technology.

All right everybody,
that's another edition of

"Tomorrow's World Today."
We'll see you next time.

So I got this model in the mail
too and it came

in this big wooden crate...
[continues indistinctly]

[George] And remember,
tomorrow's world is where

inspiration and creation drive
innovation and production.

See you next time.