Infographic: Oil extraction via steam injection blamed for sinkholes
Cyclic steam injection is a common method of oil extraction in California in which steam is injected at high pressure into a heavy-oil formation. The process is largely unregulated and has been blamed for sinkholes and other dangerous conditions in some oil fields.
Read the full story: What happened to California regulators' vows to make steam injections safer?
Injection
- Pressurized steam is injected into the oil-bearing zone over several days, creating fissures for the hot steam to reach the thick crude oil and soften it.
- Steaming ends and as the heated oil becomes more mobile, it is drawn up through the same well system. As more and more oil is taken out of the ground, support for the surface substrate weakens, causing land around the well to sink.
Extraction
Source: California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources; Times reporting.
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