Oil question.

[elle]

I just read that while testing for oil at greater depths than ever before a larger amount has been found in the gulf of mexico...

It makes me wonder as i have for years-
Oil makes so many things run so smoothy & efficently up here on the surface, what does it do for the earth in all the places we keep sucking it from?

And if we keep going for more non stop all day, all night ...to further and greater depths what are we robbing the internal earth of?
doesn't it need this oil...is that not why its there?

when will we start seeing the effects and what will they be?
i've never heard this topic discussed and i wonder if anyone is really worried about it or researching what could happen.

i know it's a natural lubrication...if we all of a sudden start have catastrophic eartquakes and such...i won't be pleased. (obviously )

 

[duroc5088]

I don't know what the long term effects on the earth will be from all the drilling going on, but I do know that with every well that is drilled my wallet gets a little fatter so I say drill till the earth implodes.

 

[elle]

how nice.
quite the global outlook you've got.

 

[tx_doc]

never thought of it that way, but you pose a great question elle.

 

[DiaryOfAMadman]

Oil severves no "known" purpose for the earth. All oil is is the end result of biological matterial decomposed over hundreds, thousands, and millions of years. For example, whats really left of the dinosaurs, we have in our gas tanks. There's no real need from it for the earh. My big concern is all the cavernious resivors of oil we drain from the earth, what once was filled with liquid, is not just a big hallow space. I wonder how secure that is from large scale earthquake or volcanic activity. Who's to say that it won't all one day collapse in certian areas?

 

[NedNickerson]

Good question... You would think the Tectonic Plates of the world would need some sort of lubrication as they grind against one another... Supposedly, they float over hot molten lava, but they also grind against one another, too...

Maybe that's why earthquakes seem to be getting more severe...

 

[looseliam]

...The water of Lake Peigneur slowly started to turn, eventually forming a giant whirlpool. A large crater developed in the bottom of the lake. It was like someone pulled the stopper out of the bottom of a giant bathtub...

Article here
Video here

 

[jjc_7]

As a geologist who worked in the oil industry this summer...I should probably comment on this.

Oil severves no "known" purpose for the earth. All oil is is the end result of biological matterial decomposed over hundreds, thousands, and millions of years. For example, whats really left of the dinosaurs, we have in our gas tanks. There's no real need from it for the earh.

This is pretty much what I would have said....however, for the people wondering about these 'caverns' left after the oil has been drained, I need to comment further.

Oil is almost almost held in the tiny pore spaces between grains in a sedimentary rock. The more porosity that has developed in a rock, the more oil it can hold (if conditions for oil formation are present). Cavernous porosity is extremely rare and in fact you can have a producing well with as little as 2-3% porosity (maybe lower even, I'm not sure). By comparison, cavernous porosity would be 100% porosity. So....although it seems that we're pumping out oil from these huge caverns, it's really just the very small spaces between grains, so there really isn't danger of extremely large scale collapse of the earth in certain places.

However, removing the oil from these pore spaces can lead to compaction of the rock, where the pore spaces decrease and the rock becomes more dense. This can lead to subsidence, which has been recorded in some areas. Again, we always think about oil when we're pumping stuff out of the ground, but we must remember that in a lot of places, our water is pumped from the ground. The water is contained within these small pore spaces as well. Pumping of water has led to ground subsidence in some areas (http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/subside/). So really, if conditions are right, subsidence can happen no matter what liquid you are pumping out of the ground.

Oh, and oil isn't really a natural lubricant for anything in the earth's system. If there were a lubricant, the tectonic plates wouldn't stick together and cause earthquakes when they rupture Earthquakes may appear to be getting more severe, but that is because the world is much more connected these days than say 50 years ago. They've always happened, but now we're just actually hearing about them.

I hope this was somewhat insightful

 

[elle]

excellent info...thank you
cause i never really knew, but it is somewhat of a reassuring answer(s)
still there is no need to be greedy with it but...*sigh*

 

[natedogg323]

Article here
Video here

Thanks for sharing that...awesome story. I had never heard of this before.