Oil well

An oil well is a borehole drilled into the Earth to locate and produce crude oil. It can be vertical, directional, or horizontal, and may be on land or offshore.

Well completion: The equipment and operations that prepare a drilled well for production or injection. Completion installs the casing, tubing, and flow controls that make an oil well productive.
Petroleum geology: The study of how petroleum forms, accumulates, and moves within Earth's rocks. Its models guide the choice of formations and locations for oil wells.
Horizontal drilling: Drilling a wellbore that turns to run laterally through a target formation. A long lateral can expose more reservoir rock to an oil well.
Natural gas well: A borehole drilled to produce natural gas from underground formations. Gas wells target natural gas, while oil wells primarily produce liquid crude.
Produced water: Water brought to the surface during oil and gas production, often containing dissolved salts and other compounds. Oil wells commonly bring produced water to the surface alongside crude.
Christmas tree (oil well): An assembly of valves and fittings mounted at a wellhead to control fluid flow. This surface assembly regulates production from a completed oil well.
Hydrocarbon reservoir: A porous, permeable rock body that stores and transmits oil or natural gas. An oil well must connect to reservoir rock for hydrocarbons to flow.
Offshore drilling: The exploration and extraction of petroleum beneath the seabed using marine installations. Offshore oil wells require platforms or subsea systems suited to marine conditions.
Water well: A borehole or dug shaft that accesses groundwater for use or monitoring. Water wells access aquifers rather than petroleum reservoirs.
Oil spill: The release of liquid petroleum into the environment, especially water or land. A loss of well control can release oil and cause a spill.

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