Oil well

An oil well is a drillhole <a href="/facts/Boring_(earth)/Nd96c6qG">boring</a> in <a href="/facts/Earth/HLLmDfj0">Earth</a> that is designed to bring <a href="/facts/Petroleum/IQV0bHVd">petroleum</a> oil <a href="/facts/Hydrocarbons/Dcg95Ju5">hydrocarbons</a> to the surface. Usually some <a href="/facts/Natural_gas/9MYQ7NAP">natural gas</a> is released as <a href="/facts/Associated_petroleum_gas/o8Hzy735">associated petroleum gas</a> along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may be termed a gas well. Wells are created by drilling down into an <a href="/facts/Petroleum_reservoir/wYoSQmGN">oil or gas reserve</a> and if necessary equipped with extraction devices such as <a href="/facts/Pumpjack/Fy7LH3kH">pumpjacks</a>. Creating the wells can be an expensive process, costing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and costing much more when in difficult-to-access locations, e.g., <a href="/facts/Oil_platform/n1eKvqpy">offshore</a>. The process of modern drilling for wells first started in the 19th century but was made more efficient with advances to oil <a href="/facts/Drilling_rig/o4esL5fh">drilling rigs</a> and technology during the 20th century.
Wells are frequently sold or exchanged between different oil and gas companies as an asset – in large part because during falls in the price of oil and gas, a well may be unproductive, but if prices rise, even low-production wells may be economically valuable. Moreover, new methods, such as <a href="/facts/Hydraulic_fracturing/cCTzfwkg">hydraulic fracturing</a> (a process of injecting gas or liquid to force more oil or natural gas production) have made some wells viable. However, <a href="/facts/Peak_oil/s0YlwPS6">peak oil</a> and <a href="/facts/Politics_of_climate_change/7G3Bgq94">climate policy</a> surrounding <a href="/facts/Fossil_fuels/BPgxAqB7">fossil fuels</a> have made fewer of these wells and costly techniques viable.
However, a large number of neglected or poorly maintained <a href="/facts/Wellhead/U4R8dSx9">wellheads</a> is a large environmental issue: they may leak <a href="/facts/Methane_emissions/IrclnYfB">methane</a> or other toxic substances into local air, water and soil systems. This pollution often becomes worse when wells are <a href="/facts/Orphan_wells/qVH51f8S">abandoned or orphaned</a> – i.e., where wells no longer economically viable are no longer maintained by their (former) owners. A 2020 estimate by Reuters suggested that there were at least 29 million abandoned wells internationally, creating a significant source of <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas_emissions/Cu9nXPHE">greenhouse gas emissions</a> worsening climate change.

Oil well open-in-new

Oil well