Oil field

Oil field
An oil field with dozens of wells. This is the Summerland Oil Field, near Santa Barbara, California, before 1906

An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum (crude oil) from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area. In addition, there may be exploratory wells probing the edges, pipelines to transport the oil elsewhere, and support facilities.

Because an oil field may be remote from civilization, establishing a field is often an extremely complicated exercise in logistics. For instance, workers have to work there for months or years and require housing. In turn, housing and equipment require electricity and water. Pipelines in cold areas may need to be heated. Excess natural gas may be burned off if there is no way to make use of it, requiring a furnace and stacks, and pipes to carry it from well to furnace.

Thus, the typical oil field resembles a small self-contained city in the midst of a landscape dotted with drilling rigs and/or the pump jacks known as "nodding donkeys" because of their bobbing arm. Several companies, such as BJ Services, Bechtel, Esso, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, have organizations that specialize in the large-scale construction of the infrastructure and providing specialized services required to operate a field profitably.

More than 40,000 oil fields are scattered around the globe, on land and offshore. The largest are the Ghawar Field in Saudi Arabia and the Burgan Field in Kuwait, with more than 60 billion barrels (9.5×109 m3) estimated in each. Most oil fields are much smaller. According to the US Department of Energy (Energy Information Administration), as of 2003 the US alone had over 30,000 oil fields.

In the modern age, the location of oil fields with proven oil reserves is a key underlying factor in many geopolitical conflicts.[1]

The term oilfield is also used as a shorthand to refer to the entire petroleum industry. However, it is more accurate to divide the oil industry into three sectors: upstream (crude production from wells and separation of water from oil), midstream (pipeline and tanker transport of crude) and downstream (refining and marketing of refined products).

See also

Crystal energy.svg Energy portal

References

  1. ^ Yergin, Daniel (1991). The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671502484. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • oil field — ☆ oil field n. an area having valuable deposits of petroleum, often, specif., one with a number of active oil wells …   English World dictionary

  • oil field — oil′ field n. gel an area having large deposits of petroleum • Etymology: 1890–95 …   From formal English to slang

  • Oil Field — A tract of land used for extracting petroleum, or crude oil, from the ground. Although the exact origin of oil is still contested, most consider petroleum a fossil fuel, created from dead organic material often found in ancient seabeds thousands… …   Investment dictionary

  • oil field — naftos verslovė statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Naftos telkinio eksploatavimo įmonė. atitikmenys: angl. oil field rus. нефтепромысел …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • Oil field fire — Oil field fires can be the result of human actions, such as accidents or arson or natural events, such as lightning. They can exist on a small scale, such as a oil field spill catching fire, or on a huge scale, as in geyser like jets of flames… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil Field Workers' Strike —    (1938)    Sparked by a dispute over holidays between Burmese oil field workers at wells at Chauk and Yenaungyaung (Yaynangyoung) and the British owned Burmah Oil Company, the strike, which began in January 1938, was organized by local branches …   Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)

  • Oil field engine — The Oil field engine is a member of the flywheel engine family. A notable manufacturer of these engines was the Joseph Reid gas engine company of Oil City, Pennsylvania. The Reid engine is an icon and a significant hallmark in the history of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil field waters — Many Oil fields will have water facilities for the creation of drilling mud, the fighting of fires, to reduce the temperature of drilling equipment, and for water injection. These are generally large rectagonal reservoirs near the drilling… …   Wikipedia

  • oil-field technician — naftos verslovės technikas statusas T sritis profesijos apibrėžtis Naftos verslovėje dirbantis technikas, kuris naftos gavybos inžinieriui padeda spręsti technines naftos gavybos problemas. Jis dalyvauja rengiant, organizuojant ir prižiūrint… …   Inžinieriai, technikai ir technologai. Trikalbis aiškinamasis žodynėlis

  • oil field — an area in which there are large deposits of oil. [1890 95] * * * …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”