Recharged oil fields

Abandoned oil wells start producing again

D.Anton

In the orthodox theory of the biogenic origin of petroleum, oil fields can be be exploited to a certain point, beyond which they are exhausted and resuming pumping becomes useless.

For that reason, after the fields are "exhausted", prospectors abandon the sites and try to find new fields elsewhere.

According to this approach, sooner or later all oil fields will eventually be depleted.

However, following the abiogenic theory of the genesis of hydrocarbons things are different 

In fact, after some time wells in oil fields might lose pressure and, if extraction is too fast, its operation becomes less profitable and they might not be of commercial interest anymore. 

However, if the well is allowed to remain without pumping long enough, the pressure may rise again and the wells can be put into operation.

For that reason also, current calculations of "probable reserves" or "proven reserves" are often unfounded, since the conceptual model on which they are based is not correct.

When calculating the time it will take a well to be exhausted, a very important variable is neglected:: the resilience of oil or gas fields due to the migration of hydrocarbons from the underlying or lateral layers to the site in question.

Oil fields that have been recharged are numerous. They were observed in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in the Middle East, in Oklahoma, in deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico and other sites.

Estimates of duration of production wells are usually wrong because recharge is not contemplated during the production period. Every few years it should be necessary to recalculate reserves. This is because the orthodox biogenic theory has misinterpreted the geological mechanisms that allow the formation of oil and gas.

In the 1970s there was a prediction that oil reserves would be exhausted by 1987. However, not only they did not end but on the contrary they increased significantly.

Thomas Gold (2001) says that oil recharging is an issue of enormous engineering significance, because if one were to accept this fact, it may be possible to have some control over the recharging process.

A key problem is the lack of understanding of the dynamics of planetary degassing. If one accepts the fact that hydrocarbons are a common constituent in the cosmos, and that planets experience degassing processes, it will be possible to better understand and therefore predict the future availability of hydrocarbons worldwide .

If it is recognized that there are huge amounts of oil or related hydrocarbons within the earth interior then it is possible to realize that the source of oil is in the deep levels of the crust and the upper mantle.

From an economic point of view this means that the oil market has been largely overvalued and that, if no anomalous events occur, such as wars or environmental catastrophes, prices will remain low for long time.

From: "Inexhaustibles? Petrolem and Gas", Danilo Anton, Piriguazu Ediciones

Blog in Spanish:  daniloanton.blogspot.com