As the drilling industry wraps up a fantastic year of business, I can’t help but think, did we, as drilling professionals, accomplish all that was possible? Think about the industry’s current potential. Over the past two years, the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have offered drillers endless opportunities to diversify their water well businesses to drill more. New York State estimates it needs more than 100 million bore feet of geothermal loops installed by 2030. Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Vermont and Michigan have all focused on initiatives to increase geothermal drilling opportunities.
Beyond ground-source geothermal, 2023’s construction drilling footage rose five-fold due to infrastructure projects for road building, pipelines and other new structures. Yet, as drilling professionals, we could have drilled more with the proper advocacy for our expertise. Drillers, I want you to stand up, walk over to the mirror, and repeat after me: