Burgan field
| Burgan Field | |
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Much of western and southern Kuwait is home to some of the largest oil fields in the world. The dark patch of land in southern Kuwait is where the Burgan oil field is located.
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| Country | Kuwait |
| Region | Middle East |
| Offshore/onshore | Onshore |
| Coordinates | 29°06′39″N 47°58′00″E / 29.11083°N 47.96667°ECoordinates: 29°06′39″N 47°58′00″E / 29.11083°N 47.96667°E |
| Operators | Kuwait Oil Company |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 1938 |
| Start of production | 1946 |
| Peak of production | 2005 |
| Abandonment | N/A |
| Production | |
| Current production of oil | 1,200,000 barrels per day (~6.0×107 t/a) |
| Current production of gas | 550×106 cu ft/d (16×106 m3/d) |
| Peak of production (oil) | 2,410,000 barrels per day (~1.20×108 t/a) |
| Estimated oil in place | 44,000 million barrels (~6.0×109 t) |
| Producing formations | Upper Cretaceous Wara |
The Burgan field is an oil field situated in the desert of southeastern Kuwait. Burgan field can also refer to the Greater Burgan—a group of three closely spaced fields, which includes Burgan field itself as well as the much smaller Magwa and Ahmadi fields. Greater Burgan is the world's largest sandstone oil field, and the second largest overall, after Ghawar. The burgan Field is bordered by the Persian gulf which played a huge part in the creation of this prominent reservoir formation many million years ago.
A natural surface oil seep above the Burgan field was known to humankind since neolithic time, bituminous material from a reed boat discovered in As-Sabiyah/North Kuwait and dated 5000 BC have been traced back to this seep.(Connan et al., 2005) The subsurface reservoirs of the Burgan oil field were discovered in February, 1938. The US and UK-owned Kuwait Oil Company began commercial oil production at Burgan in 1946.
The Greater Burgan, a wider area around Burgan, is the world largest sandstone (clastic) oil field with the total surface area of about 1000 km2. To put that into perspective, that is about 11,000 football fields. It includes three producing subfields: Burgan itself (500 km2), Magwa (180 km2) and Ahmadi (140 km2). The Burgan field's structure is an anticlinal dome having an elliptical shape and transected by numerous radial faults. Both Magwa and Ahmadi are located on smaller, subsidiary domes north of Burgan
The oil is contained in the four main horizons of Cretaceous age: Wara (sandstone), Mauddud (limestone), Burgan Third Sand (3S) and Burgan Fourth Sand (4S). Burgan Third Sand is in turn subdivided into Third Sand Upper (3SU), Third Sand Middle (3SM) and Third Sand Lower (3SL). Historically the production has come mainly from the 3SM unit. By 1992 the second and third sand units had been swept by water.
The Burgan Oil Field is made up of three main subsurface structures known as the Magwa, Ahmadi, And Burgan formation.The deeper reservoirs, namely the Lower Cretaceous Ratawi and Minagish limestones and the Jurassic Marrat Formation also contain significant oil reserves but are less substantial. The Magwa and Ahmadi formation are separated from the Burgan formation by a normal fault cutting horizontally down through the whole structure. This is known as the Burgan Graben. The role of tectonic stresses that have affected this region in Mesozoic and Cenozoic times also play a part in mcuh of the faultings seen in the formation. Looking closer at the Burgan field the formation is made up of several radial faults that help trap the petroleum content in the formation. These faults and the Burgan graben are what cause the compartmentalization of the reservoir. This compartmentalization makes for great petroleum play and holds it in place well over a long period of time. The source rock that caps this formation is known as the Mauddad Limestone.( the above diagrams help give you a better visual on the formation as a whole)
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Wikipedia