How are oil deposits extracted?

There are many ways to extract oil from oil deposits. As technology has continued to advance, today 60% of oil from oil deposits have the ability to be extracted. The first way is through primary recovery. It is called primary because it is the first way.

To begin this recovery process, a well must be drilled. From there, the underground pressure helps bring the oil to the surface. As the pressure subsides, then pumps and other artificial technologies are used to help bring the fluids to the surface.

After these techniques are completed, then the secondary recovery method can be used. This is done by injecting in well water, after the oil is separated.

Petroleum companies extract crude oil from the planet using a hole in the earth’s surface termed an oil well. Crude oil is a liquefied form of petroleum, and refining crude oil facilitates the production of gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products. The drill bit breaks through the earth, and the drilling fluid lifts the oil to the surface.

The drillers add casing or pipe line to provide structural stability to keep drilling through less stable formations. As fluid comes to the surface, the drillers strain it to eliminate the rock carvings, and fluid recovers into the well to remove more cuttings. Completing the well includes adding a perforated casing in the production zone for the oil to move into the well.

Once the well is done, the crew removes the drilling rig and installs a pump. The pump disconnects the oil and delivers it to a network for moving to the refinery. When the well comes to the point where it is no longer economically favorable to operate, the workers pour cement into certain parts of the casing to prevent gas and oil intermingling. The company installs a cap to cover them well.

There are different machines that are being used in order to extract oil and natural gas. There is a need to use gravimeters in order to know where the oil is located. Once the location is pinpointed, other things need to be done. The natural gas is pushed back down in order to make the oil come to the surface. It is not as easy as people thought.

Some assume that they simply need to do some drilling and that will be enough. To get the best type of oil and gas, the things that are mentioned above should be done. Fossil fuels come from the ancient plants and animals that were buried underneath the soil. They are not renewable so it is best to find the other sources available.

With today’s newer technologies it is possible to extract almost 60% of the oil from an oil deposit. Primary recovery, as the name implies, happens first. After drilling a well, underground pressure is used to drive oil fluids to the surface. When the pressure falls off, artificial lift technologies, such as pumps are used to bring more fluids to the surface. Sometimes natural gas is pumped down the well where it expands underneath the oil and helps to push more oil to the surface. Following the primary recover techniques, secondary recovery techniques may also be used.

The most common of these is injecting back into the well water that has been separated from the oil after the initial drilling. This helps return the water from where it originated and can help to bring an additional 20% of the oil to the surface. After that, there are three common techniques, called enhanced recovery techniques that may be used to free up the remaining oil: thermal recovery, gas injection, and chemical flooding