What is an Oil Field?

An Oil Field is a Land tract that is used for extracting petroleum, like crude oil or natural gas from the ground. Although some people challenge the precise oil origin, most of them consider petroleum as a fossil fuel that is created from dead organic material that is discovered in ancient seabeds located thousands of meters under the earth’s surface.

For the oil Industry, discovering adequate oil fields is an essential upstream piece.

Explaining Oil Fields

An oil field comprises a reservoir of fossil fuel that is found deeper in the earth’s rocky strata, where hydrocarbons get trapped. A sealing or impermeable rock layer covers this reservoir, staying intact for more than millennia. Generally, the oil industry uses the term “oil field” with an indirect presumption of economic size. For example, a discovered oil field might contain a million barrels of oil, which is equal to the oil Market price multiplied by the size.

Currently, there are 65000+ oil fields across the world with most of the largest ones situated in the Middle East, where tens of thousands of oil fields have been located. The locations of these oil fields have been the source of historical environmental concerns and geopolitical issues. Apart from that, oil could also be discovered below the ocean floor, into the deep-sea rigs.

Issues with Establishing an Oil Field

Establishing an oil field would require a herculean feat of logistics, and could be risky if the field is less productive than expected. Often, exploration includes establishing the infrastructure required for decades of extraction, maintenance and production. Also, integrated oil companies comprise whole divisions that are obligated for infrastructure construction and specific services needed to operate an oil field that is profitable. And then, these fields are backed by a gamut of extraction equipment, including pump jacks, Offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and more.

Example of an Oil Field

In Saudi Arabia, Ghawar Fields, which began its production in 1950, is the largest oil field that was discovered till now. It has acquired black gold in a quantity of more than 80 billion barrels. In terms of offshore oil fields, the Safaniya field is the largest in the world, which is situated in the Persian Gulf off the Saudi Arabian coast.