next upcoming problem. when #iran starts targeting upstream production the supply shortage could be prolonged MUCH, MUCH further.
oil wells are not a thing you can just "rebuild".
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/uae_gas_field_ablaze_as_trump_pushes_for_help_on_hormuz-17-mar-2026-183221-article/
once that happened the only way to shut it back in is to pump heavy fluid down that outweighs the upcoming oil and gas. once it has been brought back under control, depending on how bad it has been damaged they might have to replace ALL the surface equipment. it is an entire ordeal that does not happen overnight.
and there is another issue with these #oil wells in the middle east. they use an oil recovery method called water flooding, where they pump water underground in order to push the oil towards the well, if you will, as the fluids underground always move from high to low pressure zones. when you shut in this process that artificially created flow regime comes to a halt.
now when that has been shut in for a whole while water and #oil will settle at different places underground and you might just have caused the water underground to flow to the well faster than the oil, so you just produce water for a whole while, once you turn it back on.
I took a quick look. Several things do not seem right to me. 1) Wellheads are designed to handle the higher pressures of being shut in 2) water/oil do not move in banks within the reservoir, 3) water flooding usually uses produced waters from the reservoir, 4) pumpjacks are less common in the Mideast.
That illustration really sucks.
Look up the term "relative permeability" to understand how oil/water/gas mixture flow through the reservoir.
Here's a general axiom you can use: The slower a reservoir is allowed to produce oil/gas, the more oil/gas it will eventually produce.
In other words, going too fast can wreck the reservoir. Reservoir engineers are trying to find the right balance.
Shutting in wells actually allows the reservoir to recharge itself. Production rates are usually higher after a shutin.
It is a common practice to shut in oilfields when prices are low.
Yep. There is a big misconception out there about the petroleum industry. Many believe the oil company drills a well for $500,000 and it will automatically earn $5,000,000 in profits.
Everything in the petroleum industry is done with a business calculation to it. No profit = no investment.
kali
Dave Volek