Oil is an oily liquid, usually black or red-brown in color, with a specific odor and flammable properties. Today, fuel is obtained from this substance, so we can safely say that it is the most valuable mineral on planet Earth (along with natural gas). There are oil deposits in many parts of the planet. Most of the information in this article will be devoted specifically to the locations of “black gold” deposits.
General information
Oil and natural gas usually occur in the same place, so often these minerals are extracted from the same well. “Black gold” is usually mined at a depth of 1-3 kilometers, but it is often found both almost on the surface and at a depth of more than 6 km.
Natural gas is a gas mixture that is formed as a result of long-term decomposition of organic substances. As noted above, the largest oil fields can be located throughout the globe. The largest are in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, and the USA. Another thing is that not all countries can afford independent production due to high prices for developing wells, purchasing equipment, etc. For this simple reason, many fields are sold for mere pennies.
Let's talk about where the most significant deposits of “black gold” are located.
A little about the classification of oil fields
Note that not all minerals located underground can be considered deposits. For example, if there are too few deposits, then from an economic point of view it does not make sense to bring equipment and drill a well. An oil field is a collection of oil deposits located in a certain area. The occupied area ranges from tens to hundreds of kilometers. Based on the amount of oil deposited, the deposits can be divided into five groups:
- small - the amount of minerals does not exceed ten million tons;
- medium - from 10 to 100 million tons of oil (such fields include Kukmol, Verkh-Tarskoye and others);
- large - from 100 million to 1 billion tons (Kalamkas, Pravdinskoye, etc.);
- gigantic, they are also the largest - 1-5 billion tons of oil (Romashkino, Somatlor, and so on);
- unique, or super-giant - more than five billion tons (the largest deposits include deposits at Al-Ghawar, Big Kurgan, and Er-Rumaila).
As you can see, not all mineral deposits can be classified into one group or another. For example, some deposits contain no more than one hundred tons of “black gold”. It makes no sense to open them, since it is very unprofitable.
Oil field in Russia
Currently, there are more than twenty points open on the territory of the Russian Federation where “black gold” is actively mined. Every year the number of fields increases, but due to today's low oil prices, opening new points is extremely unprofitable. This applies only to small and medium-sized deposits.
The main part of the wells is located in the Arctic seas, or, more precisely, directly in their depths. Naturally, development is somewhat difficult due to difficult climatic conditions. Another challenge is getting oil and gas to the refinery. For this simple reason, there are only a few such points in the Russian Federation that carry out primary and secondary processing. One of them is the Sakhalin plume. Another plant is located on the mainland. This is due to the fact that this territory has more than one large oil field in Russia. In particular, we can talk about Siberia and the Far East.
Main oil fields in the Russian Federation
First of all, we will describe the Urengoyskoye field. It is one of the largest and ranks second in the world ranking. The amount of natural gas here is approximately 10 trillion cubic meters, and there is about 15% less oil. This field is located in the Tyumen region, in the Yamalo-German Autonomous Okrug. The name was given in honor of the small settlement of Urengoy, which is located nearby. After the discovery of the deposit in 1966, a small town grew here. The first wells began operating in 1978. They are still in operation today.
The Nakhodka gas field is also worthy of mention. Despite the fact that the amount of natural gas here is estimated at 275 billion cubic meters, it contains a large amount of “black gold”. The first mining began only 28 years after the discovery, in 2004.
Tuymazinskoye oil field
This deposit is located near the city of Tuymazy, in the Republic of Bashkiria. It was opened a long time ago, back in 1937. Oil-bearing layers lie relatively shallow, approximately 1-2 km underground. Today, the Tuymazinskoye field is one of the TOP 5 largest places in terms of oil deposits. Development began back in 1944, and is still being successfully carried out. Oil deposits are located over a large area of approximately 40 x 20 kilometers. The use of advanced methods for extracting a valuable product made it possible to extract the main deposits of minerals in about 20 years. In addition, approximately 45-50% more oil was extracted from Devonian formations than using classical methods. Later it turned out that the amount of “black gold” in this place was greater than expected, so it is still mined to this day.
Kovyktinskoye and Vankorskoye fields
The Kovyktinskoye field is located in the Irkutsk region. Since the wells are mainly located on a high mountain plateau, this place is surrounded only by taiga. Despite the fact that initially the extraction of natural gas and liquid gas condensate was discovered here, a little later oil wells appeared, which turned out to be quite rich. Of course, the main oil fields in the Russian Federation are a whole system of wells, which together make the state a leader in the production of “black gold” throughout the world.
In the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory there is the Vankor field. It cannot be called only oil, because a large amount of natural gas is produced here every year. According to preliminary estimates, the amount of oil in this field is about 260 million tons, and the volume of natural gas is about 90 billion cubic meters. There are 250 wells at this site, and the product is supplied by the Eastern Oil Pipeline.
Deposits of “black gold” in various countries of the world
It is worth drawing your attention to the fact that the largest oil fields are located not only in Russia. This valuable product is sufficient in many other countries. For example, in western Canada, in the province of Alberta, there are the largest deposits. About 95% of the entire country’s “black gold” is mined there, in addition, there are large volumes of natural gas.
Austria is also known for its rich deposits. Most of them are located in the Vienna Basin. A map of oil fields indicates that production is also taking place in Wendorf, which is located on the border with Czechoslovakia. The Aderklaa deposit is also known.
Something else about oil
No mention was made of the world's largest supplier of "black gold" - Saudi Arabia. It is enough that there are deposits of 75-85 billion barrels here (Gavar field). In Kuwait, total deposits amount to 66-73 billion barrels. Iran is constantly developing oil fields. Today it has been established that there are simply huge reserves of “black gold”. For example, five fields are estimated at one hundred billion barrels, and this already says a lot. However, it is worth noting that most of the wells belong to the United States.
Conclusion
Every month at least one new oil field appears in the world. Of course, this mineral is of great importance for humans. Fuel is made from it, used as fuel for vehicles, and so on. It is impossible not to notice that today there is a fierce struggle in the world between the United States and Russia for every new oil well. Of course, many states are trying to find an alternative to oil. If previously coal was widely used, today “black gold” is gradually replacing it. But the world's oil reserves will sooner or later run out, and then we will have to come up with something new. That is why today many famous scientists are trying to solve the problem of an alternative to “black gold”.
Vladimir Khomutko
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Main production areas and largest oil fields
Currently, the world's main energy source is oil, from which the oil industry, through processing, produces gasoline, kerosene, boiler fuel and many other useful substances that satisfy the need for petroleum products in the modern world economy.
Which oil field is the richest in terms of volume? Oddly enough, it is not located in the Persian Gulf, but in Mexico, and it is called Chicontepec.
Mexican Chicontepec field
Chicontepec is considered the largest oil field in the entire globe. It is located on the east coast of Mexico, and its basin is part of the Gulf of Mexico.
The total area of Chicontepec is four thousand square kilometers and unites the territories of three Mexican states: Puebla, Hidalgo and Veracruz.
Oil was discovered here at the beginning of the twentieth century, or more precisely in 1926. According to experts, the total size of hydrocarbon reserves in this place is from 19 to 22 billion tons. In addition to oil, this energy basin boasts huge reserves of natural gas, which experts estimate amount to approximately one trillion cubic meters.
Oil-bearing formations are located throughout the territory of this field, as a result of which the company Pemex, which is engaged in its development, decided to drill more than seventeen thousand wells designed to ensure the production of this valuable resource. It is thanks to this field that Mexico is in fourth place in the world in terms of its oil reserves. It is worth noting that the country cannot yet obtain the maximum benefit from the possession of such vast natural resources, since for a long time it has not carried out developments to develop Chicontepec.
Al-Ghawar field
This field, unique in its scale, is located in Saudi Arabia, in the Persian Gulf basin.
Experts estimate its volume at 20 billion tons of “black gold.” Al-Ghawar is the largest field in the world currently being developed (280 by 30 kilometers, or 8,400 square kilometers). It was opened in 1948, immediately after the end of World War II.
This main field brings Saudi Arabia more than half of all hydrocarbons produced in this country. Approximately 6 percent of the world's oil is of this origin. The field is state-owned and is developed by a national company called Saudi Aramco. According to experts from this company, Al-Ghawar's current oil reserves are already half used up, and if production continues at the same pace, it may be completely depleted by the end of the 21st century.
Greater Burgan
Greater Burgan or simply Burgan is located in the southern part of the state of Kuwait and, like Al-Ghawar, belongs to the Persian Gulf basin. However, its distinctive feature is that it is completely located in the desert. A third of all oil produced in Kuwait is produced in Burgan. The quantitative assessment of the oil reserves of this field is 13 billion tons. Oil production began in this place in 1946.
A state-owned company called Kuwait Petroleum Corp. is responsible for developing Greater Burgan. In order to maintain the same rate of hydrocarbon production, in recent years work has been actively carried out in Burgan to modernize oil production enterprises. According to preliminary estimates, the reserves of this field will last for at least another 50 years.
Carioca Sugar Loaf
This oil-bearing basin is located in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of South America, which belongs to Brazil.
Carioca belongs to the oil and gas basin called Santos. It was opened relatively recently - in 2008. The total oil reserves here are estimated at 11 billion tons. The development of Carioca Sugar Loaf is carried out by several oil companies, the largest of which is Petrobras. Getting to the oil from this field is quite difficult, since you have to go seven kilometers deep, of which two kilometers are the waters of the Atlantic, and five are the thickness of the earth’s crust. Carioca can fully satisfy Brazil's hydrocarbon needs for several hundred years.
Safaniya-Khafji
This water field of the Persian Gulf belongs to two states - Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
It was opened in 1951. The total volume of its reserves is approximately 10.5 billion tons of oil and 330 billion cubic meters of gas. The development is entrusted to two state corporations - Arabian Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Kuwait Petroleum Corp.
Bolivar
This name unites several oil fields on the territory of Lake Maracaibo, which is located in Venezuela. The common name is the Bolivar Shelf.
Opened in 1917. According to expert estimates, the oil reserves of this shelf amount to about 8.3 billion tons. Development and production is carried out by Petroleos de Venezuela. Mining is carried out at a depth of about five kilometers.
Al-Zaqoom
Al-Zakum consists of two fields: Lower Zakum and Upper Zakum, located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Also applies to the Persian Basin. Oil was discovered in Nizhny Zakum in 1965. in Verkhny - in 1967. Total reserves are estimated at 10.7 billion tons. The mining is carried out by the ADNOC corporation.
Samotlor field
It is the largest in Europe and is located on the territory of our country - Russia, or more precisely - in the swampy area around Lake Samotlor, which is located in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. Experts estimate the size of its reserves at approximately 7.1 billion tons.
The development of this wild region, and with it oil exploration, began in 1965. The depth of the oil-bearing layer is up to 2.5 kilometers. The development is carried out by Rosneft. Recently, a decision was made to drill an additional approximately 600 new wells, designed to increase the production of “black gold” at Samotlor. An interesting fact is that until very recently these oil deposits were not indicated on Russian maps.
North and South Pars
It is located in the territorial waters belonging to two countries - Iran and Qatar.
This very large oil and gas field is estimated by experts at approximately 7 billion tons of oil and, think about it, 28 trillion cubic meters of gas! Development here began in 1991, and the main producing companies are Petropars and Qatar Gaz.
Kashagan
A fairly young field called Kashagan was discovered in 2000.
It is located in the Caspian Sea and belongs to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Kashagan is the world's largest lake field (Caspian Sea-lake). The amount of hydrocarbon raw materials available here is estimated at 6.4 billion tons. Production here began recently - in 2013, but the leadership of Kazakhstan plans to significantly increase production volumes in the next decade and raise the Kazakh economy to new heights.
It is impossible to even imagine our world without oil and its derivatives. No one will argue that this is the most valuable mineral resource for humans. Oil is a raw material for the fuel, chemical, construction and even medical industries.
Where is such a valuable product obtained? What are the largest oil fields known throughout the world? Which countries are the leaders in the extraction of this mineral? What oil deposits are known in Russia? Let's talk about this.
So, the largest oil fields discovered today are:
Ghawar (Saudi Arabia) - estimated about 80 billion barrels,
Burgan (Kuwait) - 66-72 billion barrels,
Cantarel (Mexico) - 35 billion barrels, of which 18 billion are recoverable reserves,
Safaniya-Khafji (Saudi Arabia) - 30 billion barrels,
Rumalia (Iraq) - 20 billion barrels,
Tengiz (Kazakhstan) - 15-26 billion barrels,
Ahvaz (Iran) - 17 billion barrels,
Kirkuk (Iraq) - 16 billion,
Marun (Iran) - 16 billion,
Daqing (China) - 16 billion,
Gasharan (Iran) - 15 billion.
Thus, Saudi Arabia has the richest reserves. This is where almost 265 billion are located. And this is only based on proven data. Enterprising businessmen from many countries around the world are striving to occupy this niche. After all, the oil business is one of the most profitable. A monopoly in this area provides many advantages to its owners.
In second place is Iran. This small country has huge oil reserves. According to the latest data, about 138 billion barrels come from Iran. Iraq is not far behind its neighbor, with 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. Next comes Kuwait - 101.5 billion barrels, UAE - almost 98 billion barrels of oil reserves, Venezuela - 80 billion, and finally Russia - 79.5 billion barrels. These countries have the largest oil deposits in the entire world. All other countries contain less than 50 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. There is still something for a person to profit from! But still, scientists tirelessly sound the alarm, because these reserves are not endless. Often mining occurs in a barbaric manner, which leads to extreme depletion of the deposit and damages not only the area in which mining is carried out, but also the environment. Unfortunately, such facts are not uncommon in our time. But, as history shows, people are in no hurry to think about the future. Still, it is consoling that our country is far from in last place among a number of countries that can boast of the presence and development of oil fields.
Nizhnechutinskoe,
Povkhovskoe,
Vankorskoe,
Yuzhno-Dolginskoe,
Tevlinsko-Russkinskoe,
Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoe,
Usinsk,
Yuzhno-Yagunskoe,
Named after Vladimir Filanovsky,
Verkhnechonskoye,
Pokachevskoe,
Sakhalin 2 project,
West Matveevskoe,
Savostyanovskoe.
These are the main oil fields that are the most promising at the moment.
Oil is a coveted commodity in many countries around the world. Russia was lucky to have this most valuable resource in sufficient quantities on its territory. Despite this, careful handling of these supplies is very important. This topic has been especially relevant recently. After all, every day the oil reserves on our planet are becoming less and less. As with any business, common sense, planning, prudence and concern for the future are especially important in the oil business. After all, we are not the last generation on Earth!
Oil called a flammable oily liquid of red-brown or black color with a specific odor. Oil is one of the most important minerals on Earth, as the most commonly used fuels are obtained from it. Typically, oil is formed together with another, no less important - natural gas. Therefore, very often these two types of minerals are mined in the same place. Oil can lie at a depth of several tens of meters to 6 kilometers, but most often it is located at a depth of 1-3 km. Natural gas is a gas mixture formed during the decomposition of organic substances. It lies in the bowels of the earth in a gaseous state in the form of separate accumulations, in the form of an oil cap of oil and gas fields, and also in a dissolved state (in oil and in water).
The most famous oil and gas fields in Russia:
Urengoy natural gas field. This is the world's second largest gas field in terms of reservoir reserves. The gas volumes here exceed 10 trillion cubic meters. This field is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Tyumen region of Russia, just south of the Arctic Circle. The name of the deposit was given by the name of the nearby village of Urengoy. After the development of the field began, an entire working city of Novy Urengoy grew up here. The field was discovered in 1966, and gas production began in 1978.
How oil is extracted (photo by Maxim Yuryevich Kalinkin)
Tuymazinsky oil field. This field is located in the Republic of Bashkiria, near the city of Tuymazy. The deposit was discovered back in 1937. Oil-containing layers are located at a depth of 1-1.7 km. Development of the field began in 1944. The Tuymazinsky field is one of the five largest fields in the world in terms of oil quantity. The dimensions of the deposit are 40 by 20 kilometers. Thanks to the newest method, the bulk of the recoverable reserves were extracted within 20 years. Twice as much oil was taken from the Devonian formations as could be extracted using conventional methods. However, the reserves are so large that production continues to this day.
Nakhodka gas field. This natural gas field is located in the Bolshekhetskaya depression in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The field's reserves are estimated at 275.3 billion m3 of gas. Although the deposit was discovered quite a long time ago (in 1974), its development began only in 2004.
Shtokman gas condensate field. One of the largest deposits in the world, discovered in 1988. It is located in the central part of the shelf approximately 600 km northeast of Murmansk. Gas reserves are currently estimated at 3.7 trillion m2 of gas. Gas production has not yet begun here, since the significant depth of the mineral deposits and difficult development conditions require significant costs and high-tech equipment.
Kovykta field(Kovykta). Natural gas field located in the north of the Irkutsk region, 450 km northeast of Irkutsk. The deposit is located on a high mountain plateau covered with dark coniferous trees. It dominates in some part of the territory. In addition, this terrain is complicated by numerous canyons. The climatic conditions in the field area are also quite harsh. Natural gas reserves are estimated at 1.9 trillion cubic meters of gas and 115 million tons of liquid gas condensate.
Vankor oil and gas field. The deposit is located in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Includes Vankorsky and North-Vankorsky areas. The deposit was discovered in 1991. Oil reserves exceed 260 million tons, and gas reserves - about 90 billion m2. Development of the field should begin in 2008. It is planned to drill 266 wells here, and deliveries will be carried out through the Eastern Oil Pipeline.
Shtokman field
Angaro-Lenskoye gas field. A large natural gas field located in the Irkutsk region. Named after the names of large - and Hangars located nearby. The deposit was discovered at the beginning of the 21st century. Natural gas reserves, according to preliminary estimates, amount to more than 1.2 trillion m2.
Samotlor oil field (Samotlor). This is the largest oil field in Russia and one of the largest in the world, located in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, near Nizhnevartovsk near Samotlor. According to experts, oil reserves here amount to 2.7 billion tons. They lie at a depth of 1.6-2.4 km. The deposit was discovered in 1965. The field was mainly developed in the 80s of the last century. To date, about 2.3 billion tons have already been mined.
Yety-Purovskoye oil field. This is an oil field located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, near the city of Noyabrsk. Discovered in 1982, development began only in 2003. Oil reserves amount to about 40 million tons.
Verkh-Tarskoye oil field. Located in the north of the Novosibirsk region. Oil reserves amount to about 68 million tons. One of the disadvantages of the field is the lack of necessary communications. The oil produced from this field contains a small amount of impurities. The deposit was discovered in 1970, development began in 2000.
Number of deposits oil and gas in Russia much more. Some of them, discovered in the last century, have already been developed, while the development of others, relatively recently discovered, has not even begun yet (for example, the Vankor deposit). In addition, there is reason to believe that not all deposits in the country have been discovered.
Traditionally, Oilman's Day (Day of Workers in the Oil, Gas and Fuel Industry) is celebrated in September. In the Russian Federation, this day is celebrated, as in Soviet times - the first Sunday of September, in Ukraine, the holiday was moved to the second Sunday of September.
Oil is an oily, flammable natural liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and some organic compounds. There is still no clear opinion from the scientific world about the origin of oil, although the main hypothesis is considered to be the burial of organic substances in sedimentary rocks followed by complex transformation.
Oil is one of the main minerals on the planet, however, its reserves are not evenly distributed. And they are used differently by their states. For example, Russia, being in 7th place in the world in terms of oil reserves of 77 billion barrels, produces as much oil (505 million tons) as the USA (294 million tons) and Canada (173.4 million tons) produce. and Kazakhstan (70 million tons) combined (2010).
Oil reserves at the largest oil fields exceed 10 billion tons. Next Top 10 largest oil fields.
1 Chicontepec oil field 22.1 billion tons (Mexico)
A super-giant oil and gas field in Mexico, located on the east coast of Mexico. Opened in 1926.
Operator: Pemex
2 Al-Ghawar oil field 20 billion tons (Saudi Arabia)
The largest giant oil and gas field in terms of reserves is in Saudi Arabia. One of the largest oil and gas fields in the world, located in the Persian Gulf basin.
Operator: Saudi Aramco
3 Greater Burgan Oil Field 13 billion tons (Kuwait)
The largest giant field, which contained more than 5% of the world's proven recoverable oil reserves until 2004
Operator: Kuwait Petroleum Corp
4 Carioca Sugar Loaf oil field 11 billion tons (Brazil)
Group of Large Oil and Gas Fields in Brazil. Located in the Atlantic Ocean 330 km southeast of Sao Paulo
Operator: Petrobras
a group of oil fields in Venezuela (Maracaibo Oil and Gas Basin). Includes the Lagunillas, Tia Juana, Bochaquero deposits
Cinematographer: Petroleos de Venezuela
6 Upper Zakum oil field 8.2 billion tons (UAE)
Supergiant UAE Oil Field located in the Persian Gulf.
Operator: ADNOC, ExxonMobil, Japan Oil Development Co.
7 Samotlor oil field 7.1 billion tons (Russia)
The largest oil field in Russia and one of the largest in the world. Located in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, near Nizhnevartovsk, in the area of Lake Samotlor. Translated from Khanty, Samotlor means “dead”, “thin water”.
Operator: TNK-BP
8 North / South Pars oil field 7 billion tons (Iran, Qatar)
Supergiant Oil and Gas Field, the largest in the world. Located in the central part of the Persian Gulf in the territorial waters of Qatar (North) and Iran (South Pars)
Operator: Qatar Gaz, Petropars
9 Kashagan oil field 6.4 billion tons (Kazakhstan)
A supergiant oil and gas field in Kazakhstan, located in the north of the Caspian Sea. Belongs to the Caspian oil and gas province.
Operator: ENI, KazMunayGas, Chevron, Total, Shell
10 Daqing Oil Field 6.3 billion tons (China)
Supergiant Oil Field, the largest in China.
Operator: PetroChina
