Misplaced Pages

#321678

135-446: Wells have traditionally been sunk by hand digging, as is still the case in rural areas of the developing world. These wells are inexpensive and low-tech as they use mostly manual labour, and the structure can be lined with brick or stone as the excavation proceeds. A more modern method called caissoning uses pre-cast reinforced concrete well rings that are lowered into the hole. Driven wells can be created in unconsolidated material with

270-412: A drilling rig , which contains all necessary equipment to circulate the drilling fluid, hoist and rotate the pipe, remove cuttings from the drilling fluid, and generate on-site power for these operations. After drilling and casing the well, it must be 'completed'. Completion is the process in which the well is prepared to produce oil or gas. In a cased-hole completion, small perforations are made in

405-480: A "sweep" effect to push hydrocarbons out of the reservoir. Such methods require the use of injection wells (often chosen from old production wells in a carefully determined pattern), and are used when facing problems with reservoir pressure depletion or high oil viscosity, sometimes being employed early in a field's life. In certain cases – depending on the reservoir's geomechanics – reservoir engineers may determine that ultimate recoverable oil may be increased by applying

540-449: A brick roughly 42 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 10 cm thick), smoothing the surfaces with a wire-strung bow, removing them from the frames, printing the fronts and backs with stamps that indicated where the bricks came from and who made them, loading the kilns with fuel (likelier wood than coal), stacking the bricks in the kiln, removing them to cool while the kilns were still hot, and bundling them into pallets for transportation. It

675-455: A caisson vertically below the top of the aquifer and then advancing lateral collectors out of the caisson and beneath the surface water body. Pumping from within the caisson induces infiltration of water from the surface water body into the aquifer, where it is collected by the collector well laterals and conveyed into the caisson where it can be pumped to the ground surface. Two additional broad classes of well types may be distinguished, based on

810-470: A circulation fluid to displace cuttings and cool bits during the drilling. Another form of rotary-style drilling, termed mud rotary , makes use of a specially made mud, or drilling fluid, which is constantly being altered during the drill so that it can consistently create enough hydraulic pressure to hold the side walls of the bore hole open, regardless of the presence of a casing in the well. Typically, boreholes drilled into solid rock are not cased until after

945-988: A depth of 13 metres (43 ft). Other slightly younger wells are known from this site and from neighbouring Parekklisha-Shillourokambos. A first stone lined well of 5.5 metres (18 ft) depth is documented from a drowned final PPN (c. 7000 BC) site at ‘Atlit-Yam off the coast near modern Haifa in Israel . Wood-lined wells are known from the early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture , for example in Ostrov, Czech Republic, dated 5265 BC, Kückhoven (an outlying centre of Erkelenz ), dated 5300 BC, and Eythra in Schletz (an outlying centre of Asparn an der Zaya ) in Austria , dated 5200 BC. The neolithic Chinese discovered and made extensive use of deep drilled groundwater for drinking. The Chinese text The Book of Changes , originally

1080-401: A disposal problem at wells that are developed to produce oil. If there are no pipelines for natural gas near the wellhead it may be of no value to the oil well owner since it cannot reach the consumer markets. Such unwanted gas may then be burned off at the well site in a practice known as production flaring , but due to the energy resource waste and environmental damage concerns this practice

1215-680: A divination text of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046 -771 BC), contains an entry describing how the ancient Chinese maintained their wells and protected their sources of water. A well excavated at the Hemedu excavation site was believed to have been built during the neolithic era. The well was cased by four rows of logs with a square frame attached to them at the top of the well. 60 additional tile wells southwest of Beijing are also believed to have been built around 600 BC for drinking and irrigation. In Egypt , shadoofs and sakias are used. The sakia

1350-550: A drilling action. Unlike rotary drilling, cable tool drilling requires the drilling action to be stopped so that the bore hole can be bailed or emptied of drilled cuttings. Cable tool drilling rigs are rare as they tend to be 10x slower to drill through materials compared to similar diameter rotary air or rotary mud equipped rigs. Drilled wells are usually cased with a factory-made pipe, typically steel (in air rotary or cable tool drilling) or plastic / PVC (in mud rotary wells, also present in wells drilled into solid rock). The casing

1485-972: A dry, small aggregate concrete which is formed in steel moulds by vibration and compaction in either an "egglayer" or static machine. The finished blocks are cured, rather than fired, using low-pressure steam. Concrete bricks and blocks are manufactured in a wide range of shapes, sizes and face treatments – a number of which simulate the appearance of clay bricks. Concrete bricks are available in many colours and as an engineering brick made with sulfate-resisting Portland cement or equivalent. When made with adequate amount of cement they are suitable for harsh environments such as wet conditions and retaining walls. They are made to standards BS 6073, EN 771-3 or ASTM C55. Concrete bricks contract or shrink so they need movement joints every 5 to 6 metres, but are similar to other bricks of similar density in thermal and sound resistance and fire resistance. Compressed earth blocks are made mostly from slightly moistened local soils compressed with

SECTION 10

#1732773293322

1620-739: A group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. PFAS are a group of "forever chemicals" that spread very quickly and very far in ground water polluting it permanently. Water wells near certain airports where any form fire fighting or training activities occurred up to 2010 are likely to be contaminated by PFAS. A study concluded that of ~39 million groundwater wells 6-20% are at high risk of running dry if local groundwater levels decline by less than five meters, or – as with many areas and possibly more than half of major aquifers – continue to decline. Springs and wells have had cultural significance since prehistoric times, leading to

1755-422: A high pressure, high-temperature well of duration 100 days can cost about US$ 30 million. Onshore wells can be considerably cheaper, particularly if the field is at a shallow depth, where costs range from less than $ 4.9 million to $ 8.3 million, and the average completion costing $ 2.9 million to $ 5.6 million per well. Completion makes up a larger portion of onshore well costs than offshore wells, which generally have

1890-443: A history older than fired bricks, and have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds , collectively known as brickwork , and may be laid in various kinds of mortar to hold the bricks together to make a durable structure. The earliest bricks were dried mudbricks , meaning that they were formed from clay-bearing earth or mud and dried (usually in

2025-457: A kiln which makes them durable. Modern, fired, clay bricks are formed in one of three processes – soft mud, dry press, or extruded. Depending on the country, either the extruded or soft mud method is the most common, since they are the most economical. Clay and shale are the raw ingredients in the recipe for a fired brick. They are the product of thousands of years of decomposition and erosion of rocks, such as pegmatite and granite , leading to

2160-473: A large number of neglected or poorly maintained wellheads is a large environmental issue: they may leak methane or other toxic substances into local air, water and soil systems. This pollution often becomes worse when wells are abandoned or orphaned – i.e., where wells no longer economically viable are no longer maintained by their (former) owners. A 2020 estimate by Reuters suggested that there were at least 29 million abandoned wells internationally, creating

2295-560: A level low enough to pose a threat to humans and other aerobic organisms but still high enough for a risk of spontaneous or externally caused explosion. This potential for explosion is what poses such a danger in regards to the drilling and placement of water wells. Low levels of methane in drinking water are not considered toxic. When methane seeps into a water supply, it is commonly referred to as "methane migration". This can be caused by old natural gas wells near water well systems becoming abandoned and no longer monitored. Lately, however,

2430-516: A marked avoidance of areas near oil wells and seismic lines due to disturbances. Drilling often destroys wildlife habitat, causing wildlife stress, and breaks up large areas into smaller isolated ones, changing the environment, and forcing animals to migrate elsewhere. It can also bring in new species that compete with or prey on existing animals. Even though the actual area taken up by oil and gas equipment might be small, negative effects can spread. Animals like mule deer and elk try to stay away from

2565-424: A material that has properties of being highly chemically stable and inert. Within the clays and shales are the materials of aluminosilicate (pure clay ), free silica ( quartz ), and decomposed rock. One proposed optimal mix is: Three main methods are used for shaping the raw materials into bricks to be fired: In many modern brickworks , bricks are usually fired in a continuously fired tunnel kiln , in which

2700-450: A mechanical hydraulic press or manual lever press. A small amount of a cement binder may be added, resulting in a stabilised compressed earth block . There are thousands of types of bricks that are named for their use, size, forming method, origin, quality, texture, and/or materials. Categorized by manufacture method: Oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that

2835-424: A mud motor while drilling to achieve a depth of over 12,000 metres (12 km; 39,000 ft; 7.5 mi). Until the 1970s, most oil wells were essentially vertical, although lithological variations cause most wells to deviate at least slightly from true vertical (see deviation survey ). However, modern directional drilling technologies allow for highly deviated wells that can, given sufficient depth and with

SECTION 20

#1732773293322

2970-430: A pump. The water often comes from an aquifer or groundwater, and can be easily deepened, which may be necessary if the ground water level drops, by telescoping the lining further down into the aquifer. The yield of existing hand dug wells may be improved by deepening or introducing vertical tunnels or perforated pipes. Drawbacks to hand-dug wells are numerous. It can be impractical to hand dig wells in areas where hard rock

3105-450: A raw form known as associated petroleum gas , is almost always a by-product of producing oil. The short, light-gas carbon chains come out of solution when undergoing pressure reduction from the reservoir to the surface, similar to uncapping a bottle of soda where the carbon dioxide effervesces . If it escapes into the atmosphere intentionally it is known as vented gas , or if unintentionally as fugitive gas . Unwanted natural gas can be

3240-410: A rectangular building unit composed of clay or concrete, but is usually larger than a brick. Lightweight bricks (also called lightweight blocks) are made from expanded clay aggregate . Fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials , sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since c.  4000 BC . Air-dried bricks, also known as mudbricks , have

3375-483: A relatively low embodied energy and carbon footprint . The ingredients are first harvested and added together, with clay content ranging from 30% to 70%. The mixture is broken up with hoes or adzes , and stirred with water to form a homogenous blend. Next, the tempers and binding agents are added in a ratio, roughly one part straw to five parts earth to reduce weight and reinforce the brick by helping reduce shrinkage. However, additional clay could be added to reduce

3510-433: A screening device, filter pack, slotted casing, or open bore hole is left to allow the flow of water into the well. Constructed screens are typically used in unconsolidated formations (sands, gravels, etc.), allowing water and a percentage of the formation to pass through the screen. Allowing some material to pass through creates a large area filter out of the rest of the formation, as the amount of material present to pass into

3645-406: A segmented steel drilling string, typically made up of 3m (10ft), 6 m (20 ft) to 8m (26ft) sections of steel tubing that are threaded together, with a bit or other drilling device at the bottom end. Some rotary drilling machines are designed to install (by driving or drilling) a steel casing into the well in conjunction with the drilling of the actual bore hole. Air and/or water is used as

3780-463: A shallow land well to millions of dollars for an offshore one. Thus the burden may fall on government agencies or surface landowners when a business entity can no longer be held responsible. Orphan wells are a potent contributor of greenhouse gas emissions , such as methane emissions , contributing to climate change . Much of this leakage can be attributed to failure to have them plugged properly or leaking plugs. A 2020 estimate of abandoned wells in

3915-523: A shallower reservoir. Such remedial work can be performed using workover rigs – also known as pulling units , completion rigs or "service rigs" – to pull and replace tubing, or by the use of well intervention techniques utilizing coiled tubing . Depending on the type of lift system and wellhead a rod rig or flushby can be used to change a pump without pulling the tubing. Enhanced recovery methods such as water flooding, steam flooding, or CO 2 flooding may be used to increase reservoir pressure and provide

4050-543: A significant source of greenhouse gas emissions worsening climate change. The earliest known oil wells were drilled in China in 347 CE. These wells had depths of up to about 240 metres (790 ft) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine producing salt . By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to

4185-422: A unit primarily composed of clay , but is now also used informally to denote units made of other materials or other chemically cured construction blocks. Bricks can be joined using mortar , adhesives or by interlocking. Bricks are usually produced at brickworks in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region, and are produced in bulk quantities. Block is a similar term referring to

Well - Misplaced Pages Continue

4320-419: A variety of tools including electro-seismic surveying, any available information from nearby wells, geologic maps, and sometimes geophysical imaging . These professionals provide advice that is almost as accurate a driller who has experience and knowledge of nearby wells/bores and the most suitable drilling technique based on the expected target depth. Shallow pumping wells can often supply drinking water at

4455-571: A very important source of potable water in some rural developing areas, where they are routinely dug and used today. Their indispensability has produced a number of literary references, literal and figurative, including the reference to the incident of Jesus meeting a woman at Jacob 's well ( John 4:6) in the Bible and the " Ding Dong Bell " nursery rhyme about a cat in a well. Hand-dug wells are excavations with diameters large enough to accommodate one or more people with shovels digging down to below

4590-613: A very low cost. However, impurities from the surface easily reach shallow sources, which leads to a greater risk of contamination for these wells compared to deeper wells. Contaminated wells can lead to the spread of various waterborne diseases . Dug and driven wells are relatively easy to contaminate; for instance, most dug wells are unreliable in the majority of the United States. Some research has found that, in cold regions, changes in river flow and flooding caused by extreme rainfall or snowmelt can degrade well water quality. Most of

4725-603: A waterflooding strategy early in the field's development rather than later. Such enhanced recovery techniques are often called Secondary or " tertiary recovery ". Orphan , orphaned, or abandoned wells are oil or gas wells that have been abandoned by fossil fuel extraction industries . These wells may have been deactivated because had become uneconomic, failure to transfer ownerships (especially at bankruptcy of companies ), or neglect, and thus no longer have legal owners responsible for their care. Decommissioning wells effectively can be expensive, costing several thousands of dollars for

4860-399: A well depends mainly on the daily rate of the drilling rig, the extra services required to drill the well, the duration of the well program (including downtime and weather time), and the remoteness of the location (logistic supply costs). The daily rates of offshore drilling rigs vary by their depth capability, and the market availability. Rig rates reported by industry web service show that

4995-491: A well hole structure, which consists of a hardened drive point and a screen of perforated pipe, after which a pump is installed to collect the water. Deeper wells can be excavated by hand drilling methods or machine drilling, using a bit in a borehole . Drilled wells are usually cased with a factory-made pipe composed of steel or plastic. Drilled wells can access water at much greater depths than dug wells. Two broad classes of well are shallow or unconfined wells completed within

5130-691: Is a common problem with groundwater. Nitrates from sewage , sewage sludge or fertilizer are a particular problem for babies and young children. Pollutant chemicals include pesticides and volatile organic compounds from gasoline , dry-cleaning , the fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and perchlorate from rocket fuel, airbag inflators, and other artificial and natural sources. Several minerals are also contaminants, including lead leached from brass fittings or old lead pipes, chromium VI from electroplating and other sources, naturally occurring arsenic , radon , and uranium —all of which can cause cancer—and naturally occurring fluoride , which

5265-410: Is becoming less common. Often, unwanted (or 'stranded' gas without a market) gas is returned back into the reservoir with an 'injection' well for storage or for re-pressurizing the producing formation. Another solution is to convert the natural gas to a liquid fuel. Gas to liquid (GTL) is a developing technology that converts stranded natural gas into synthetic gasoline, diesel or jet fuel through

5400-470: Is caused when the water table of the soil drops over time and salt begins to accumulate. In turn, the increased amount of salt begins to dry the soil out. The increased level of salt in the soil can result in the degradation of soil and can be very harmful to vegetation. Methane , an asphyxiant, is a chemical compound that is the main component of natural gas. When methane is introduced into a confined space, it displaces oxygen, reducing oxygen concentration to

5535-872: Is common in Sweden as well as Russia and other post-Soviet countries, especially in houses built or renovated in the 1970s. A version known as fly ash bricks , manufactured using fly ash , lime, and gypsum (known as the FaL-G process) are common in South Asia. Calcium-silicate bricks are also manufactured in Canada and the United States, and meet the criteria set forth in ASTM C73 – 10 Standard Specification for Calcium Silicate Brick (Sand-Lime Brick). Bricks formed from concrete are usually termed as blocks or concrete masonry unit , and are typically pale grey. They are made from

Well - Misplaced Pages Continue

5670-437: Is constructed by welding, either chemically or thermally, segments of casing together. If the casing is installed during the drilling, most drills will drive the casing into the ground as the bore hole advances, while some newer machines will actually allow for the casing to be rotated and drilled into the formation in a similar manner as the bit advancing just below. PVC or plastic is typically solvent welded and then lowered into

5805-599: Is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may be termed a gas well . Wells are created by drilling down into an oil or gas reserve and if necessary equipped with extraction devices such as pumpjacks . Creating the wells can be an expensive process, costing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and costing much more when in difficult-to-access locations, e.g., offshore . The process of modern drilling for wells first started in

5940-454: Is desirable in low quantities to prevent tooth decay , but can cause dental fluorosis in higher concentrations. Some chemicals are commonly present in water wells at levels that are not toxic, but can cause other problems. Calcium and magnesium cause what is known as hard water , which can precipitate and clog pipes or burn out water heaters. Iron and manganese can appear as dark flecks that stain clothing and plumbing, and can promote

6075-473: Is drilled to a predetermined depth or to a confining formation (clay or bedrock, for example), and then a smaller hole for the well is completed from that point forward. The well is typically cased from the surface down into the smaller hole with a casing that is the same diameter as that hole. The annular space between the large bore hole and the smaller casing is filled with bentonite clay , concrete, or other sealant material. This creates an impermeable seal from

6210-495: Is dug, 6–9 metres (20–30 ft) wide, 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) deep, and 100–150 metres (330–490 ft) in circumference. A tall exhaust chimney is constructed in the centre. Half or more of the trench is filled with "green" (unfired) bricks which are stacked in an open lattice pattern to allow airflow. The lattice is capped with a roofing layer of finished brick. In operation, new green bricks, along with roofing bricks, are stacked at one end of

6345-559: Is far more costly than a comparable onshore well. These wells dot the Southern and Central Great Plains, Southwestern United States, and are the most common wells in the Middle East. Another way to classify oil wells is by their purpose in contributing to the development of a resource. They can be characterized as: At a producing well site, active wells may be further categorized as: Lahee classification [1] The cost to drill

6480-451: Is manufactured differently for various purposes. Unfired bricks, also known as mudbrick , are made from a mixture of silt , clay , sand and other earth materials like gravel and stone, combined with tempers and binding agents such as chopped straw, grasses, tree bark , or dung. Since these bricks are made up of natural materials and only require heat from the Sun to bake, mudbricks have

6615-670: Is much more efficient, as it can bring up water from a depth of 10 metres (versus the 3 metres of the shadoof). The sakia is the Egyptian version of the noria . Some of the world's oldest known wells, located in Cyprus, date to 7000–8,500 BC. Two wells from the Neolithic period, around 6500 BC, have been discovered in Israel. One is in Atlit, on the northern coast of Israel, and the other is in

6750-600: Is present, and they can be time-consuming to dig and line even in favourable areas. Because they exploit shallow aquifers, the well may be susceptible to yield fluctuations and possible contamination from surface water, including sewage. Hand dug well construction generally requires the use of a well trained construction team, and the capital investment for equipment such as concrete ring moulds, heavy lifting equipment, well shaft formwork, motorized de-watering pumps, and fuel can be large for people in developing countries. Construction of hand dug wells can be dangerous due to collapse of

6885-476: Is simply hammered into the ground, usually with a tripod and driver , with pipe sections added as needed. A driver is a weighted pipe that slides over the pipe being driven and is repeatedly dropped on it. When groundwater is encountered, the well is washed of sediment and a pump installed. Drilled wells are constructed using various types of drilling machines, such as top-head rotary, table rotary, or cable tool, which all use drilling stems that rotate to cut into

SECTION 50

#1732773293322

7020-447: Is usually outfitted with a collection of valves called a Christmas tree or production tree. These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to the wellbore in case further completion work is needed. From the outlet valve of the production tree, the flow can be connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or oil export terminals. As long as

7155-544: The Brick Renaissance as the stylistic changes associated with the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe, leading to the adoption of Renaissance elements into brick building. Identifiable attributes included a low-pitched hipped or flat roof, symmetrical facade, round arch entrances and windows, columns and pilasters, and more. A clear distinction between the two styles only developed at

7290-584: The Building Research Establishment in Watford , UK, the use of improved masonry for the construction of tall structures up to 18 storeys high was made viable. However, the use of brick has largely remained restricted to small to medium-sized buildings, as steel and concrete remain superior materials for high-rise construction. Four basic types of brick are un-fired, fired, chemically set bricks, and compressed earth blocks. Each type

7425-575: The Cairo Citadel at 280 feet (85 m) deep and the Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well) built in 1527 in Orvieto, Italy , at 61 metres (200 ft) deep by 13 metres (43 ft) wide are both larger by volume. Driven wells may be very simply created in unconsolidated material with a well hole structure , which consists of a hardened drive point and a screen (perforated pipe). The point

7560-658: The Fischer–Tropsch process developed in World War II Germany. Like oil, such dense liquid fuels can be transported using conventional tankers for trucking to refineries or users. Proponents claim GTL fuels burn cleaner than comparable petroleum fuels. Most major international oil companies are in advanced development stages of GTL production, e.g. the 140,000 bbl/d (22,000 m /d) Pearl GTL plant in Qatar, scheduled to come online in 2011. In locations such as

7695-507: The bacteria , viruses , parasites , and fungi that contaminate well water comes from fecal material from humans and other animals. Common bacterial contaminants include E. coli , Salmonella , Shigella , and Campylobacter jejuni . Common viral contaminants include norovirus , sapovirus , rotavirus , enteroviruses , and hepatitis A and E . Parasites include Giardia lamblia , Cryptosporidium , Cyclospora cayetanensis , and microsporidia . Chemical contamination

7830-709: The filtration of the contaminants of concern, and additional protection may be garnered by installing well-casing screens only at depths where contamination is not present. Wellwater for personal use is often filtered with reverse osmosis water processors; this process can remove very small particles. A simple, effective way of killing microorganisms is to bring the water to a full boil for one to three minutes, depending on location. A household well contaminated by microorganisms can initially be treated by shock chlorination using bleach, generating concentrations hundreds of times greater than found in community water systems; however, this will not fix any structural problems that led to

7965-444: The water table . The excavation is braced horizontally to avoid landslide or erosion endangering the people digging. They can be lined with stone or brick; extending this lining upwards above the ground surface to form a wall around the well serves to reduce both contamination and accidental falls into the well. A more modern method called caissoning uses reinforced concrete or plain concrete pre-cast well rings that are lowered into

8100-475: The woodlots . The advantage of the BTK design is a much greater energy efficiency compared with clamp or scove kilns . Sheet metal or boards are used to route the airflow through the brick lattice so that fresh air flows first through the recently burned bricks, heating the air, then through the active burning zone. The air continues through the green brick zone (pre-heating and drying the bricks), and finally out

8235-518: The 12th century. Some sources claim that from the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in the area around modern Baku , Azerbaijan , to produce naphtha for the petroleum industry . These places were described by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those oil wells as hundreds of shiploads. When Marco Polo in 1264 visited Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea , he saw oil being collected from seeps. He wrote that "on

SECTION 60

#1732773293322

8370-690: The 19th century but was made more efficient with advances to oil drilling rigs and technology during the 20th century. Wells are frequently sold or exchanged between different oil and gas companies as an asset – in large part because during falls in the price of oil and gas, a well may be unproductive, but if prices rise, even low-production wells may be economically valuable. Moreover, new methods, such as hydraulic fracturing (a process of injecting gas or liquid to force more oil or natural gas production) have made some wells viable. However, peak oil and climate policy surrounding fossil fuels have made fewer of these wells and costly techniques viable. However,

8505-736: The Herculaneum gate of Pompeii and the baths of Caracalla . During the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular in Northern Europe , after being introduced there from Northwestern Italy. An independent style of brick architecture, known as brick Gothic (similar to Gothic architecture ) flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks. Examples of this architectural style can be found in modern-day Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Kaliningrad (former East Prussia ). This style evolved into

8640-725: The Jezreel Valley. Wells for other purposes came along much later, historically. The first recorded salt well was dug in the Sichuan province of China around 2,250 years ago. This was the first time that ancient water well technology was applied successfully for the exploitation of salt, and marked the beginning of Sichuan's salt drilling industry. The earliest known oil wells were also drilled in China, in 347 CE. These wells had depths of up to about 240 metres (790 ft) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil

8775-576: The United States was that methane emissions released from abandoned wells produced greenhouse gas impacts equivalent to three weeks of US oil consumption each year. The scale of leaking abandoned wells is well understood in the US and Canada because of public data and regulation; however, a Reuters investigation in 2020 could not find good estimates for Russia, Saudi Arabia and China—the next biggest oil and gas producers. However, they estimate there are 29 million abandoned wells internationally. Natural gas, in

8910-527: The United States with a high natural gas demand, pipelines are usually favored to take the gas from the well site to the end consumer . Wells can be located: Offshore wells can further be subdivided into While the location of the well will be a large factor in the type of equipment used to drill it, there is actually little downhole difference in the well itself. An offshore well targets a reservoir that happens to be underneath an ocean. Due to logistics and specialized equipment needed, drilling an offshore well

9045-520: The added cost burden of a surface platform. The total costs mentioned do not include the those associated with the risk of explosion and leakage of oil. Those costs include the cost of protecting against such disasters, the cost of the cleanup effort, and the hard-to-calculate cost of damage to the company's image. The impacts of oil exploration and drilling are often irreversible, particularly for wildlife. Research indicates that caribou in Alaska show

9180-534: The ancient Indus Valley cities of Mohenjo-daro , Harappa , and Mehrgarh . Ceramic, or fired brick was used as early as 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities like Kalibangan . In the middle of the third millennium BC, there was a rise in monumental baked brick architecture in Indus cities. Examples included the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro , the fire altars of Kaalibangan , and the granary of Harappa . There

9315-400: The borehole. Screens also control the migration of formation sands into production tubulars, which can lead to washouts and other problems, particularly from unconsolidated sand formations. After a flow path is made, acids and fracturing fluids may be pumped into the well to fracture , clean, or otherwise prepare and stimulate the reservoir rock to allow optimal production of hydrocarbons into

9450-405: The brick pile. Historically, a stack of unfired bricks covered for protection from the weather was called a "hack". Cooled finished bricks are removed from the other end for transport to their destinations. In the middle, the brick workers create a firing zone by dropping fuel (coal, wood, oil, debris, etc.) through access holes in the roof above the trench. The constant source of fuel maybe grown on

9585-465: The bricks are fired as they move slowly through the kiln on conveyors , rails, or kiln cars, which achieves a more consistent brick product. The bricks often have lime , ash, and organic matter added, which accelerates the burning process. The other major kiln type is the Bull's Trench Kiln (BTK), based on a design developed by British engineer W. Bull in the late 19th century. An oval or circular trench

9720-444: The buildings more visible in the heavy fog and to help prevent traffic accidents. The transition from the traditional method of production known as hand-moulding to a mechanised form of mass-production slowly took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. The first brick-making machine was patented by Richard A. Ver Valen of Haverstraw, New York, in 1852. The Bradley & Craven Ltd 'Stiff-Plastic Brickmaking Machine'

9855-404: The case of horizontal wells. These new systems allow casing to run into the lateral zone equipped with proper packer/frac-port placement for optimal hydrocarbon recovery. The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life: when the oil and gas are produced. By this time, the oil rigs and workover rigs used to drill and complete the well will have moved off the wellbore, and the top

9990-461: The casing during construction and filling the casing annulus with an appropriate sealing material. The sealing material (grout) should be placed from immediately above the production zone back to surface, because, in the absence of a correctly constructed casing seal, contaminated fluid can travel into the well through the casing annulus. Centering devices are important (usually one per length of casing or at maximum intervals of 9 m) to ensure that

10125-775: The casing from corrosive well fluids. In many wells, the natural pressure of the subsurface reservoir is high enough for the oil or gas to flow to the surface. However, this is not always the case, especially in depleted fields where the pressures have been lowered by other producing wells, or in low-permeability oil reservoirs. Installing a smaller diameter tubing may be enough to help the production, but artificial lift methods may also be needed. Common solutions include surface pump jacks , downhole hydraulic pumps or gas lift assistance. Many new systems in recent years have been introduced for well completion. Multiple packer systems with frac ports or port collars in an all-in-one system have cut completion costs and improved production, especially in

10260-464: The chimney, where the rising gases create suction that pulls air through the system. The reuse of heated air yields savings in fuel cost. As with the rail process, the BTK process is continuous. A half-dozen labourers working around the clock can fire approximately 15,000–25,000 bricks a day. Unlike the rail process, in the BTK process the bricks do not move. Instead, the locations at which the bricks are loaded, fired, and unloaded gradually rotate through

10395-456: The colour of bricks to blend-in areas of brickwork with the surrounding masonry. An impervious and ornamental surface may be laid on brick either by salt glazing , in which salt is added during the burning process, or by the use of a slip , which is a glaze material into which the bricks are dipped. Subsequent reheating in the kiln fuses the slip into a glazed surface integral with the brick base. Chemically set bricks are not fired but may have

10530-535: The confines toward Geirgine there is a fountain from which oil springs in great abundance, in as much as a hundred shiploads might be taken from it at one time." In 1846, Baku (settlement Bibi-Heybat ) the first ever well was drilled with percussion tools to a depth of 21 metres (69 ft) for oil exploration . In 1846–1848, the first modern oil wells were drilled on the Absheron Peninsula north-east of Baku, by Russian engineer Vasily Semyonov applying

10665-779: The construction materials for architectural wonders such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon , where glazed fired bricks were put into practice. The earliest fired bricks appeared in Neolithic China around 4400 BC at Chengtoushan , a walled settlement of the Daxi culture . These bricks were made of red clay, fired on all sides to above 600 °C, and used as flooring for houses. By the Qujialing period (3300 BC), fired bricks were being used to pave roads and as building foundations at Chengtoushan. According to Lukas Nickel,

10800-610: The construction of canal , roads , and railways . Production of bricks increased massively with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise in factory building in England. For reasons of speed and economy, bricks were increasingly preferred as building material to stone, even in areas where the stone was readily available. It was at this time in London that bright red brick was chosen for construction to make

10935-736: The construction of the tomb of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi . The floors of the three pits of the terracotta army were paved with an estimated 230,000 bricks, with the majority measuring 28x14x7 cm, following a 4:2:1 ratio. The use of fired bricks in Chinese city walls first appeared in the Eastern Han dynasty (25 AD-220 AD). Up until the Middle Ages, buildings in Central Asia were typically built with unbaked bricks. It

11070-481: The contamination and generally requires some expertise and testing for effective application. After the filtration process, it is common to implement an ultraviolet (UV) system to kill pathogens in the water. UV light affects the DNA of the pathogen by UV-C photons breaking through the cell wall. UV disinfection has been gaining popularity in the past decades as it is a chemical-free method of water treatment. A risk with

11205-518: The curing process accelerated by the application of heat and pressure in an autoclave. Calcium-silicate bricks are also called sandlime or flintlime bricks, depending on their ingredients. Rather than being made with clay they are made with lime binding the silicate material. The raw materials for calcium-silicate bricks include lime mixed in a proportion of about 1 to 10 with sand, quartz , crushed flint , or crushed siliceous rock together with mineral colourants . The materials are mixed and left until

11340-458: The deepwater water floating drilling rigs are over twice the daily cost of the shallow water fleet, and rates for jack-up fleet can vary by factor of 3 depending upon capability. With deepwater drilling rig rates in 2015 of around $ 520,000/day, and similar additional spread costs, a deepwater well of a duration of 100 days can cost around US$ 100 million. With high-performance jackup rig rates in 2015 of around $ 177,000, and similar service costs,

11475-445: The described wells/pumps are no longer very efficient and can be replaced by either handpumps or treadle pumps . Another alternative is the use of self-dug wells, electrical deep-well pumps (for higher depths). Appropriate technology organizations as Practical Action are now supplying information on how to build/set-up ( DIY ) handpumps and treadle pumps in practice. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ( PFAS or PFASs ) are

11610-521: The design and installation of private and municipal septic systems take all these factors into account so that nearby drinking water sources are protected. Education of the general population in society also plays an important role in protecting drinking water. Cleanup of contaminated groundwater tends to be very costly. Effective remediation of groundwater is generally very difficult. Contamination of groundwater from surface and subsurface sources can usually be dramatically reduced by correctly centering

11745-424: The drilled well, vertically stacked with their ends nested and either glued or splined together. The sections of casing are usually 6 metres (20 ft) or more in length, and 4 to 12 in (10 to 30 cm) in diameter, depending on the intended use of the well and local groundwater conditions. Surface contamination of wells in the United States is typically controlled by the use of a surface seal . A large hole

11880-437: The drilling location (extended reach drilling), allowing for the production of hydrocarbons located below locations that are difficult to place a drilling rig on, environmentally sensitive, or populated. The target (the endpoint of the well) will be matched with a surface location (the starting point of the well), and a trajectory between the two will be designed. There are many considerations to take into account when designing

12015-434: The drilling process is completed, regardless of the machinery used. The oldest form of drilling machinery is the cable tool , still used today. Specifically designed to raise and lower a bit into the bore hole, the spudding of the drill causes the bit to be raised and dropped onto the bottom of the hole, and the design of the cable causes the bit to twist at approximately 1 ⁄ 4 revolution per drop, thereby creating

12150-503: The end of the 19th century, the Hudson River region of New York State would become the world's largest brick manufacturing region, with 130 brickyards lining the shores of the Hudson River from Mechanicsville to Haverstraw and employing 8,000 people. At its peak, about 1 billion bricks were produced a year, with many being sent to New York City for use in its construction industry. The demand for high office building construction at

12285-483: The first bricks with dimension 400x150x100 mm. Between 5000 and 4500 BC, Mesopotamia had discovered fired brick. The standard brick sizes in Mesopotamia followed a general rule: the width of the dried or burned brick would be twice its thickness, and its length would be double its width. The South Asian inhabitants of Mehrgarh also constructed air-dried mudbrick structures between 7000 and 3300 BC and later

12420-512: The formation, thus the term "drilling." Drilled wells can be excavated by simple hand drilling methods (augering, sludging, jetting, driving, hand percussion) or machine drilling (auger, rotary, percussion, down the hole hammer). Deep rock rotary drilling method is most common. Rotary can be used in 90% of formation types (consolidated). Drilled wells can get water from a much deeper level than dug wells can − often down to several hundred metres. Drilled wells with electric pumps are used throughout

12555-467: The foundation of towns such as Wells and Bath in Somerset . Interest in health benefits led to the growth of spa towns including many with wells in their name, examples being Llandrindod Wells and Royal Tunbridge Wells . Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term brick denotes

12690-426: The grouted annular space is of even thickness. Upon the construction of a new test well, it is considered best practice to invest in a complete battery of chemical and biological tests on the well water in question. Point-of-use treatment is available for individual properties and treatment plants are often constructed for municipal water supplies that suffer from contamination. Most of these treatment methods involve

12825-692: The growth of iron and manganese bacteria that can form slimy black colonies that clog pipes. The quality of the well water can be significantly increased by lining the well, sealing the well head, fitting a self-priming hand pump, constructing an apron, ensuring the area is kept clean and free from stagnant water and animals, moving sources of contamination ( pit latrines , garbage pits, on-site sewer systems ) and carrying out hygiene education. The well should be cleaned with 1% chlorine solution after construction and periodically every 6 months. Well holes should be covered to prevent loose debris, animals, animal excrement, and wind-blown foreign matter from falling into

12960-415: The hole and decomposing. The cover should be able to be in place at all times, including when drawing water from the well. A suspended roof over an open hole helps to some degree, but ideally the cover should be tight fitting and fully enclosing, with only a screened air vent. Minimum distances and soil percolation requirements between sewage disposal sites and water wells need to be observed. Rules regarding

13095-635: The hole. A well-digging team digs under a cutting ring and the well column slowly sinks into the aquifer , whilst protecting the team from collapse of the well bore . Hand-dug wells are inexpensive and low tech (compared to drilling) and they use mostly manual labour to access groundwater in rural locations of developing countries. They may be built with a high degree of community participation, or by local entrepreneurs who specialize in hand-dug wells. They have been successfully excavated to 60 metres (200 ft). They have low operational and maintenance costs, in part because water can be extracted by hand, without

13230-532: The ideas of Nikolay Voskoboynikov. Ignacy Łukasiewicz , a Polish pharmacist and petroleum industry pioneer drilled one of the world's first modern oil wells in 1854 in Polish village Bóbrka, Krosno County who in 1856 built one of the world's first oil refineries . In North America, the first commercial oil well entered operation in Oil Springs, Ontario in 1858, while the first offshore oil well

13365-454: The lime is completely hydrated; the mixture is then pressed into moulds and cured in an autoclave for three to fourteen hours to speed the chemical hardening. The finished bricks are very accurate and uniform, although the sharp arrises need careful handling to avoid damage to brick and bricklayer. The bricks can be made in a variety of colours; white, black, buff, and grey-blues are common, and pastel shades can be achieved. This type of brick

13500-401: The need for straw, which would prevent the likelihood of insects deteriorating the organic material of the bricks, subsequently weakening the structure. These ingredients are thoroughly mixed together by hand or by treading and are then left to ferment for about a day. The mix is then kneaded with water and molded into rectangular prisms of a desired size. Bricks are lined up and left to dry in

13635-503: The noise and activity of drilling sites, sometimes moving miles away to find peace. This movement and avoidance can lead to less space for these animals affecting their numbers and health. The Sage-grouse is another example of an animal that tries to avoid areas with drilling, which can lead to fewer of them surviving and reproducing. Different studies show that drilling in their habitats negatively impacts sage-grouse populations. In Wyoming , sage grouse studied between 1984 and 2008 show

13770-405: The placement of water wells is soil salination which occurs when the water table of the soil begins to drop and salt begins to accumulate as the soil begins to dry out. Another environmental problem that is very prevalent in water well drilling is the potential for methane to seep through. The potential for soil salination is a large risk when choosing the placement of water wells. Soil salination

13905-403: The portion of the casing across the production zone, to provide a path for the oil to flow from the surrounding rock into the production tubing. In open hole completion, often a 'sand screen' or 'gravel pack' is installed in the last-drilled but uncased reservoir section. These maintain structural integrity of the wellbore in the absence of casing, while still allowing flow from the reservoir into

14040-439: The pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, the production tree is all that is required to produce the well. If the pressure depletes and it is considered economically viable, an artificial lift method mentioned in the completions section can be employed. Workovers are often necessary in older wells, which may need smaller diameter tubing, scale or paraffin removal, acid matrix jobs, or completion in new zones of interest in

14175-443: The process, sections of steel pipe ( casing ), slightly smaller in diameter than the borehole at that point, are placed in the hole. Cement slurry will be pumped down the inside to rise in the annulus between the borehole and the outside of the casing. The casing provides structural integrity to that portion of the newly drilled wellbore, in addition to isolating potentially dangerous high pressure zones from lower-pressure ones, and from

14310-448: The proper tools, actually become horizontal. This is of great value as the reservoir rocks that contain hydrocarbons are usually horizontal or nearly horizontal; a horizontal wellbore placed in a production zone has more surface area in the production zone than a vertical well, resulting in a higher production rate. The use of deviated and horizontal drilling has also made it possible to reach reservoirs several kilometers or miles away from

14445-478: The screen and the borehole or casing. This allows the water to be filtered of unwanted materials before entering the well and pumping zone. There are two broad classes of drilled-well types, based on the type of aquifer the well is in: A special type of water well may be constructed adjacent to freshwater lakes or streams. Commonly called a collector well but sometimes referred to by the trade name Ranney well or Ranney collector , this type of well involves sinking

14580-476: The sun for three days on both sides. After the six days, the bricks continue drying until required for use. Typically, longer drying times are preferred, but the average is eight to nine days spanning from initial stages to its application in structures. Unfired bricks could be made in the spring months and left to dry over the summer for use in the autumn. Mudbricks are commonly employed in arid environments to allow for adequate air drying. Fired bricks are baked in

14715-494: The sun) until they were strong enough for use. The oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad , in the upper Tigris region and in southeast Anatolia close to Diyarbakir . Mudbrick construction was used at Çatalhöyük , from c. 7,400 BC. Mudbrick structures, dating to c. 7,200 BC have been located in Jericho , Jordan Valley. These structures were made up of

14850-431: The surface can easily reach shallow sources and contamination of the supply by pathogens or chemical contaminants needs to be avoided. Well water typically contains more minerals in solution than surface water and may require treatment before being potable. Soil salination can occur as the water table falls and the surrounding soil begins to dry out. Another environmental problem is the potential for methane to seep into

14985-413: The surface to the next confining layer that keeps contaminants from traveling down the outer sidewalls of the casing or borehole and into the aquifer . In addition, wells are typically capped with either an engineered well cap or seal that vents air through a screen into the well, but keeps insects, small animals, and unauthorized persons from accessing the well. At the bottom of wells, based on formation,

15120-401: The surface. With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can be drilled deeper (into potentially higher-pressure or more-unstable formations) with a smaller bit, and then cased with a smaller size pipe. Modern wells generally have two to as many as five sets of subsequently smaller hole sizes, each cemented with casing. This process is all facilitated by

15255-450: The target. These properties may include lithology pore pressure , fracture gradient, wellbore stability, porosity and permeability . These assumptions are used by a well engineering team designing the casing and completion programs for the well. Also considered in the detailed planning are selection of the drill bits, Bottom hole assembly , and the drilling fluid Step-by-step procedures are written to provide guidelines for executing

15390-437: The temperature inside the kiln stayed at a level that caused the clay to shimmer with the colour of molten gold or silver. He also had to know when to quench the kiln with water so as to produce the surface glaze. To anonymous labourers fell the less skilled stages of brick production: mixing clay and water, driving oxen over the mixture to trample it into a thick paste, scooping the paste into standardised wooden frames (to produce

15525-508: The third century BC, when baked bricks of regular shape began to be employed for vaulting underground tombs. Hollow brick tomb chambers rose in popularity as builders were forced to adapt due to a lack of readily available wood or stone. The oldest extant brick building above ground is possibly Songyue Pagoda , dated to 523 AD. By the end of the third century BC in China, both hollow and small bricks were available for use in building walls and ceilings. Fired bricks were first mass-produced during

15660-406: The trajectory such as the clearance from any nearby wells (anti-collision) or future wellpaths. Before a well is drilled, a geologic target is identified by a geologist or geophysicist to meet the objectives of the well. When the well path is identified, a team of geoscientists and engineers will develop a set of presumed characteristics of the subsurface path that will be drilled through to reach

15795-500: The transition to Baroque architecture . In Lübeck , for example, Brick Renaissance is clearly recognisable in buildings equipped with terracotta reliefs by the artist Statius von Düren, who was also active at Schwerin ( Schwerin Castle ) and Wismar (Fürstenhof). Long-distance bulk transport of bricks and other construction equipment remained prohibitively expensive until the development of modern transportation infrastructure, with

15930-625: The trench. The colour of fired clay bricks is influenced by the chemical and mineral content of the raw materials, the firing temperature, and the atmosphere in the kiln. For example, pink bricks are the result of a high iron content, white or yellow bricks have a higher lime content. Most bricks burn to various red hues; as the temperature is increased the colour moves through dark red, purple, and then to brown or grey at around 1,300 °C (2,370 °F). The names of bricks may reflect their origin and colour, such as London stock brick and Cambridgeshire White. Brick tinting may be performed to change

16065-642: The turn of the 20th century led to a much greater use of cast and wrought iron , and later, steel and concrete . The use of brick for skyscraper construction severely limited the size of the building – the Monadnock Building , built in 1896 in Chicago, required exceptionally thick walls to maintain the structural integrity of its 17 storeys. Following pioneering work in the 1950s at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and

16200-407: The uppermost saturated aquifer at that location, and deep or confined wells, sunk through an impermeable stratum into an aquifer beneath. A collector well can be constructed adjacent to a freshwater lake or stream with water percolating through the intervening material. The site of a well can be selected by a hydrogeologist , or groundwater surveyor. Water may be pumped or hand drawn. Impurities from

16335-429: The use of ceramic pieces for protecting and decorating floors and walls dates back at various cultural sites to 3000-2000 BC and perhaps even before, but these elements should be rather qualified as tiles . For the longest time builders relied on wood, mud and rammed earth, while fired brick and mudbrick played no structural role in architecture. Proper brick construction, for erecting walls and vaults , finally emerges in

16470-742: The use of natural gas for lighting and heating. Petroleum was known as burning water in Japan in the 7th century. According to Kasem Ajram, petroleum was distilled by the Persian alchemist Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) in the 9th century, producing chemicals such as kerosene in the alembic ( al-ambiq ), and which was mainly used for kerosene lamps . Arab and Persian chemists also distilled crude oil in order to produce flammable products for military purposes. Through Islamic Spain , distillation became available in Western Europe by

16605-417: The use of the well: A water well constructed for pumping groundwater can be used passively as a monitoring well and a small diameter well can be pumped, but this distinction by use is common. Before excavation, information about the geology, water table depth, seasonal fluctuations, recharge area and rate should be found if possible. This work can be done by a hydrogeologist , or a groundwater surveyor using

16740-489: The water. Very early neolithic wells are known from the Eastern Mediterranean : The oldest reliably dated well is from the pre-pottery neolithic (PPN) site of Kissonerga-Mylouthkia on Cyprus . At around 8400 BC a shaft (well 116) of circular diameter was driven through limestone to reach an aquifer at a depth of 8 metres (26 ft). Well 2070 from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, dating to the late PPN, reaches

16875-514: The well bore, falling objects and asphyxiation, including from dewatering pump exhaust fumes. The Woodingdean Water Well , hand-dug between 1858 and 1862, is the deepest hand-dug well at 392 metres (1,285 ft). The Big Well in Greensburg, Kansas , is billed as the world's largest hand-dug well, at 109 feet (33 m) deep and 32 feet (9.8 m) in diameter. However, the Well of Joseph in

17010-410: The well in a safe and cost-efficient manner. With the interplay with many of the elements in a well's design, trajectories and designs often go through several iterations before the plan is finalized. The well is created by drilling a hole 12 cm to 1 meter (5 in to 40 in) in diameter into the earth with a drilling rig that rotates a drill string with a bit attached. At depths during

17145-400: The well slowly decreases and is removed from the well. Rock wells are typically cased with a PVC liner/casing and screen or slotted casing at the bottom, this is mostly present just to keep rocks from entering the pump assembly. Some wells utilize a filter pack method, where an undersized screen or slotted casing is placed inside the well and a filter medium is packed around the screen, between

17280-481: The wellbore. Usually the area above the producing section of the well is packed off inside the casing, and connected to the surface via a smaller diameter pipe called tubing. This arrangement provides a redundant barrier to leaks of hydrocarbons as well as allowing damaged sections to be replaced. Also, the smaller cross-sectional area of the tubing gives reservoir fluids an increased velocity to minimize liquid fallback that would create additional back pressure, and shields

17415-401: The world, typically in rural or sparsely populated areas, though many urban areas are supplied partly by municipal wells. Most shallow well drilling machines are mounted on large trucks, trailers, or tracked vehicle carriages. Water wells typically range from 3 to 18 metres (10–60 ft) deep, but in some areas it can go deeper than 900 metres (3,000 ft). Rotary drilling machines use

17550-518: Was a uniformity to the brick sizes throughout the Indus Valley region, conforming to the 1:2:4, thickness, width, and length ratio. As the Indus civilization began its decline at the start of the second millennium BC, Harappans migrated east, spreading their knowledge of brickmaking technology. This led to the rise of cities like Pataliputra , Kausambi , and Ujjain , where there was an enormous demand for kiln-made bricks. By 604 BC, bricks were

17685-468: Was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt . By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to the use of natural gas for lighting and heating. Petroleum was known as Burning water in Japan in the 7th century. Until recent centuries, all artificial wells were pumpless hand-dug wells of varying degrees of sophistication, and they remain

17820-555: Was drilled in 1896 in the Summerland Oil Field on the California Coast. The earliest oil wells in modern times were drilled percussively, by repeatedly raising and dropping a bit on the bottom of a cable into the borehole. In the 20th century, cable tools were largely replaced with rotary drilling , which could drill boreholes to much greater depths and in less time. The record-depth Kola Borehole used

17955-750: Was hot, filthy work. Early civilisations around the Mediterranean , including the Ancient Greeks and Romans , adopted the use of fired bricks. By the early first century CE, standardised fired bricks were being heavily produced in Rome. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns , and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire , stamping the bricks with the seal of the legion. The Romans used brick for walls, arches, forts, aqueducts, etc. Notable mentions of Roman brick structures are

18090-517: Was only starting in the ninth century CE when buildings were entirely constructed using fired bricks. The carpenter's manual Yingzao Fashi , published in 1103 at the time of the Song dynasty described the brick making process and glazing techniques then in use. Using the 17th-century encyclopaedic text Tiangong Kaiwu , historian Timothy Brook outlined the brick production process of Ming dynasty China: ...the kilnmaster had to make sure that

18225-686: Was patented in 1853. Bradley & Craven went on to be a dominant manufacturer of brickmaking machinery. Henry Clayton, employed at the Atlas Works in Middlesex , England, in 1855, patented a brick-making machine that was capable of producing up to 25,000 bricks daily with minimal supervision. His mechanical apparatus soon achieved widespread attention after it was adopted for use by the South Eastern Railway Company for brick-making at their factory near Folkestone . At

#321678