EXTRACTION PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GASES
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Extracting oil and natural gas from deposits deep underground isn’t as simple as just drilling and completing a well.
Any number of factors in the underground environment including the porosity of the rock and the viscosity of the deposit can
impede the free flow of product into the well.
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Primary recovery first relies on underground pressure to drive fluids to the surface.
When the pressure falls, artificial lift technologies, such as pumps, are used help bring more fluids to the surface.
In some situations, natural gas is pumped back down the well underneath the oil. The gas expands, pushing the oil to the
surface. Gas lift technology is often used in offshore facilities. Primary recovery often taps only 10 percent of the oil
in a deposit.
Secondary recovery is the most widely applied enhanced recovery technique. Water that is produced
and separated from the oil in the initial phase
of drilling is injected back into the oil-bearing formation to bring more oil to the surface.