The Importance Of Global Oil Production Optimization
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Oil Production Optimization.

What is the point of oil production optimization? In concept, it is quite simple: all resources, including oil, are scarce. For this reason, it is vital to optimize how we extract and use them. If we fail to extract them in an optimal way, then we may leave deposits behind. This is especially important with oil. In the past, when demand for oil was lower (and subsequently, the price was lower), many oil producers disregarded harder to reach reserves. Now that easy to extract oil is harder to come by, those same producers are returning to those hard to reach reserves to extract them at a higher cost.

The optimization of oil production is important because the global demand for crude oil continues to increase. Major industrialized nations continue crude oil production and use at a record pace. Consumers accustomed to formerly cheap oil prices bought large sport utility vehicles and trucks which use large amounts of gasoline. As the economies of those countries continue to grow, the oil production demands of the transportation and industrial sectors grow as well. Extracting every last drop of oil through oil production optimizing helps ease the demand for crude oil.

The established industrial nations are not the only reasons for oil production optimizing. Many newer economic and industrial nations are emerging as crude oil production consumers. These countries contain a major fraction of the global population. Crude oil production feeds these growing economies. Optimizing oil production is essential so the world can take the best advantage of existing crude oil production capacity.

The optimization of crude oil production can be accomplished in several ways. Specially formulated muds and slurries can be pumped into existing oil wells. This operation optimizes oil production by maintaining pressure in the well, forcing new oil to the surface. Non-traditional oil sources such as oil shale and oil sands are being found and their crude oil extracted. Other production optimization measures include new drilling techniques and geophysical tools to locate and extract unknown oil fields.

While the oil supply may seem almost endless, in reality, it is not. In fact, it is more likely that reserves will dwindle down over the course of our lives, slowly pushing prices up and forcing us to seriously consider other options. But until we consider those other options, such as solar power, wind turbine power, or geothermal energy, we can expect  find ourselves at the mercy of oil reserves and oil producers. For this reason, oil production optimization is an absolute necessity.