How long does it take to bring oil fields online?

[william the wie]

In the past year or so massive oil fields were discovered here in TX, off-shore in Qatar waters and two or three years back the Gatwick field in the UK. From the prices of Brent and WTI none of these fields are yet in full production. The Alaska NG pipeline to Nome (that was the proposed port four years ago) is not yet online. Can anyone explain what is going on?

 

[Ringel05]

In the past year or so massive oil fields were discovered here in TX, off-shore in Qatar waters and two or three years back the Gatwick field in the UK. From the prices of Brent and WTI none of these fields are yet in full production. The Alaska NG pipeline to Nome (that was the proposed port four years ago) is not yet online. Can anyone explain what is going on?

From a human standpoint or a geological one........?

 

[shockedcanadian]

In the past year or so massive oil fields were discovered here in TX, off-shore in Qatar waters and two or three years back the Gatwick field in the UK. From the prices of Brent and WTI none of these fields are yet in full production. The Alaska NG pipeline to Nome (that was the proposed port four years ago) is not yet online. Can anyone explain what is going on?

Contact the company and ask I suppose. With Trump at the helm these guys should be drilling within a couple of days, I say that with some exaggeration but certainly now is the time. Often their annual reports or company news sometimes give you a timeline of expected drilling (almost always behind schedule). There is an argument that the price of oil often dictates these decisions and/or a companies capacity, I can't say for sure obviously.


I remember missing out on the purchase of a small oil company I was looking at many years ago, I would have lucked out when they were successful on a big find. Back then all finance news went through Yahoo boards and I would have made a good penny within a few days. Turned out that particular find was overstated, the roll of the dice as it were, so some overpaid for the company at that point. I didn't keep up with their activities after.

I agree though, get that beautiful dinosaur bones out of the ground (apparently that's inaccurate btw according to the latest theories) and put it to work. The American economy is humming, get the fuel moving!

 

[TheOldSchool]

Trump has to okay it with the Saudi’s

 

[Maxdeath]

Drilling one well can take almost a month by the time the location is built, everything moved in and set up, hole drilled and cased.
Next the drilling rig is moved off and a work over rig is moved in. It can take a week or more depending on what is needed. If they need to frack then times depend on the frac crew.
After the work over rig is moved off the roustabout crews come in and setup the pumping unit, trench and lay lines to the treater and storage tanks, lines need to be trenches and laid to the nearest pipeline, or they can do without that and truck the oil from the storage tanks.
All that can be as long as two or three months sometimes longer. Now consider that even a small field can have twenty or thirty wells.large fields can have four, five hundred or more wells.
Part of the problem with just not punching hole after hole is do we have the refining capacity? Enviromental requlations. Pipeline capacities.

If we have to build other refineries or enlarge existing ones that can take years. If you have to have a loading facility that can also take years. Building a pipeline above ground is actually more costly then below ground because of requlations.
Hope this answers your questions.

 

[william the wie]

I suspect that fear of what the price will be when these fields the world market is the major problem with a shortage of pipe welders (2) and a shortage of steel pipes are the excuses for relative inaction. For example permafrost creates natural gas so the supply of that is unbounded. (Science Channel and various news stories have covered the chemistry of how this happens.)

 

[The Irish Ram]

They have to lay pipeline. To do that they have to tie up the property. First they have to map it out. Then spend months in the courthouse locating every owner. Then they have to get all the owners under contract. Those who refuse to sign up are taken to court and eminent domain-ed. Then they have to survey and lay the pipe. It takes years. At least here in Ohio...

 

[Manonthestreet]

Companies are more cost-conscious than ever, and the evolution of oilfield technology continues to make finding and producing oil quicker and cheaper in the pancaked layers of rock in the Permian. It now accounts for about 30% of all U.S. output. Booming U.S. shale production is fueling record crude oil exports, with shipments reaching an all-time high of 1.76 million barrels a day in April.

There’s no question the economic upside is big in the basin, which covers more than 75,000 square miles in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Midland saw year-over-year increases of at least 34% in sales-tax collections in each of the last four months. Morales said coffers are full enough that he may ask for raises for city workers -- so they don’t bolt for the oil fields.

Shale country is out of workers. That means $140,000 for a truck driver and 100% pay hikes