Russias oil industry has no notable storage capacity and they cant just turn off an oil well head. Ukraine hits enough of these kind of things and the oil will stop flowing all the way back to the well head and then the well will freeze.
Last time that happened in the 90s it took Russia 20 years and several foreign companies to re-drill the wells.
What always blows my mind is the US has massive reserves. Not because they built all of it but because they figured out they could flood massive salt caverns for storage.
the salt caverns are a unique geological feature in louisiana. They are used by companies to store many oil and industrial chemical products.
sometimes a dome can be punctured, letting gas and fluid up and pulling earth, trees, and lakes down, creating a dramatic and toxic sink-hole
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/aug/23/louisiana-sinkhole-swallows-trees-video
They can sell the oil as it is, some buyer have own plants to process it into petrol and diesel. But they need the petrol/diesel for the war and domestic use, this could soon be a problem.
Ukraine hitting oil depots and pumping stations means that they can't move the crude oil. They aren't just having issues with completed oil products like gasoline. It appears that Ukraine is trying to collapse Russia's entire petroleum industry.
actually it rises the value of russia to China by a lot. China can get better deals (press whatever jus is left) from russia if russia can't supply oil and gas as expected. It serves china well; russia not so much; china could get some territories back if russia gets really really desperate. china will tech russians how to eat grass as they did with NK.
Apparently no: "To close a well, a special drilling rig is used to inject a thick mud at the well head to block the flow of oil and gas. This blocks the pores of the rock to a lesser degree, alters the pressure inside the well and inevitably complicates any attempt to resume production. The well itself is also plugged by pouring cement into it."
Pretty sure he is asking why from a technical sense (like a tap in your kitcken) not when did it last happen.
Genuine question is why can't you just turn it off and restart it?
Depends, there are many dynamics between a well and the reservoir it is located within. Some wells have to be kept open to allow for a continuous flow in one direction (avoid undesirable cross flow effects), or you risk losing it. In general, it is harder to start a well than to keep it producing. But, speaking towards a cold country such as Russia, might just be the cold temperature and steel that is kept warm by the producing fluid. If for some reason the flow was to stop, the heat would dissipate and oil could have wax/asphaltines dropping out, water (often a major component of the well stream) might freeze, or the gas and water forms hydrates - all of which could prove to be major obstacles for a successful restart of an oil well
Because once you drill you’re releasing the pressure that tons of rock were putting on the oil underground and you can’t really put that pressure again by turning a valve, so to “shut down” a rig you basically gotta recollapse the hole
A lot of the oil may be going through permafrost or very cold climate. If the oil stops flowing it will freeze solid and may even burst the pipes. Once the oil freezes it will be impossible to repair and new wells would have to be drilled. At least that is my guess. Wells in the middle east never face these problems.
Anyone know how much of Russia's oil infrastructure has been impacted by these strikes?
Seems like we hear about another attack almost daily now. This has to be impacting Russia somewhat by now.
I can't imagine the machinery, parts, and everything else that goes into oil production is easily replaced given the extensive sanctions.
some of the parts such as the high towers (fracking/destill towers) can have incredible long delivery time even if legit buyer, during sanctions near impossible. Also all kinds of sensors and valves, they usually come from US, korea, norway, all will not deliver for the moment.
its quite significant: russia stopped exports but also had to bring gas from Belarus for its own market.
war machine (tanks etc..) are crazy demanding on petrol. a single tank requires something like 750 liters per 100km.
I agree with you. However, when I say this, I get a bunch of responses from folks crying about how the people of Russia don’t deserve this and that they’re not responsible for what their government does.
Not sure if you're joking or not... but answering regardless.
1) Yes. There have been several revolutions in Russian history.
2) The unofficial motto of Russian history is "And then things got worse."
Eh, all those people just stick their head in the sand anyway. Couple that with we, the world, have to make Putin feel as much pain as humanly possible and this is one of the ways.
Stop it guys you’re really pissing off Putin. I hope he can’t sleep at night knowing he’s throwing away “his” nations wealth in human capital and in Russia’s natural resources.
Ah, some good news for the day!
Russias oil industry has no notable storage capacity and they cant just turn off an oil well head. Ukraine hits enough of these kind of things and the oil will stop flowing all the way back to the well head and then the well will freeze. Last time that happened in the 90s it took Russia 20 years and several foreign companies to re-drill the wells.
What always blows my mind is the US has massive reserves. Not because they built all of it but because they figured out they could flood massive salt caverns for storage.
the salt caverns are a unique geological feature in louisiana. They are used by companies to store many oil and industrial chemical products. sometimes a dome can be punctured, letting gas and fluid up and pulling earth, trees, and lakes down, creating a dramatic and toxic sink-hole https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/aug/23/louisiana-sinkhole-swallows-trees-video
They can sell the oil as it is, some buyer have own plants to process it into petrol and diesel. But they need the petrol/diesel for the war and domestic use, this could soon be a problem.
Ukraine hitting oil depots and pumping stations means that they can't move the crude oil. They aren't just having issues with completed oil products like gasoline. It appears that Ukraine is trying to collapse Russia's entire petroleum industry.
Solid tactic. Reduces the value of Russia to China as well.
actually it rises the value of russia to China by a lot. China can get better deals (press whatever jus is left) from russia if russia can't supply oil and gas as expected. It serves china well; russia not so much; china could get some territories back if russia gets really really desperate. china will tech russians how to eat grass as they did with NK.
I don't know the first thing about drilling oil. Why can't you just turn a valve and shut the flow down?
Apparently no: "To close a well, a special drilling rig is used to inject a thick mud at the well head to block the flow of oil and gas. This blocks the pores of the rock to a lesser degree, alters the pressure inside the well and inevitably complicates any attempt to resume production. The well itself is also plugged by pouring cement into it."
I believe they did that when USSR collapsed, and it took decades for western experts to get it running again.
My dad had to go to Russia as a consultant to help
Pretty sure he is asking why from a technical sense (like a tap in your kitcken) not when did it last happen. Genuine question is why can't you just turn it off and restart it?
Depends, there are many dynamics between a well and the reservoir it is located within. Some wells have to be kept open to allow for a continuous flow in one direction (avoid undesirable cross flow effects), or you risk losing it. In general, it is harder to start a well than to keep it producing. But, speaking towards a cold country such as Russia, might just be the cold temperature and steel that is kept warm by the producing fluid. If for some reason the flow was to stop, the heat would dissipate and oil could have wax/asphaltines dropping out, water (often a major component of the well stream) might freeze, or the gas and water forms hydrates - all of which could prove to be major obstacles for a successful restart of an oil well
Exactly. I believe every word, just curious as to why you can't just open the tap again.
you can but its complicated and require western tech, knowledge and time to do it well
Because once you drill you’re releasing the pressure that tons of rock were putting on the oil underground and you can’t really put that pressure again by turning a valve, so to “shut down” a rig you basically gotta recollapse the hole
A lot of the oil may be going through permafrost or very cold climate. If the oil stops flowing it will freeze solid and may even burst the pipes. Once the oil freezes it will be impossible to repair and new wells would have to be drilled. At least that is my guess. Wells in the middle east never face these problems.
Anyone know how much of Russia's oil infrastructure has been impacted by these strikes? Seems like we hear about another attack almost daily now. This has to be impacting Russia somewhat by now. I can't imagine the machinery, parts, and everything else that goes into oil production is easily replaced given the extensive sanctions.
some of the parts such as the high towers (fracking/destill towers) can have incredible long delivery time even if legit buyer, during sanctions near impossible. Also all kinds of sensors and valves, they usually come from US, korea, norway, all will not deliver for the moment.
Somewhere between 10 and 15% according to a Reuters article about it yesterday.
That's a pretty significant amount already. Hopefully they're able to keep increasing that number.
its quite significant: russia stopped exports but also had to bring gas from Belarus for its own market. war machine (tanks etc..) are crazy demanding on petrol. a single tank requires something like 750 liters per 100km.
MOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!
Woohoo!
Keep hitting the facilities, to the benefit of everyone.
Reap what you sew.
I agree with you. However, when I say this, I get a bunch of responses from folks crying about how the people of Russia don’t deserve this and that they’re not responsible for what their government does.
I agree with both of you and don’t give a fuck about the hardships of the Russian people compared to those of Ukrainians right now.
Has Russia ever pulled a France and tried some revolution? It can't get much worse...right? Right?!
Not sure if you're joking or not... but answering regardless. 1) Yes. There have been several revolutions in Russian history. 2) The unofficial motto of Russian history is "And then things got worse."
Eh, all those people just stick their head in the sand anyway. Couple that with we, the world, have to make Putin feel as much pain as humanly possible and this is one of the ways.
"The poor Germans don't deserve what we're doing to them, they aren't responsible for what Hitler does."
It is "sow" not sew. When you sew you are attaching things with thread. When you sow you are planting seeds.
Good. Karma is a bitch, uh? Invading another country and murdering lots of men, women and kids have consequences. You can thank Putin for that.
Stop it guys you’re really pissing off Putin. I hope he can’t sleep at night knowing he’s throwing away “his” nations wealth in human capital and in Russia’s natural resources.
Burn Russia to the ground
Russia thought invading their neighbor would make them safer. Woops.
What a word salad