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.

#oil

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.

#iran #energy #energycrisis

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.

#iran #energy #energycrisis

@kali

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.

@kali

That illustration really sucks.

Look up the term "relative permeability" to understand how oil/water/gas mixture flow through the reservoir.

@kali

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.