Question: What causes pressure in an oil well?
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Answer: That largely goes back to how oil is formed: from dead organic material. That sinks to the bottom of the sea, and if certain layers of sediment build up over that, it gets buried deep enough that's it's compressed, and after enough time passes, it becomes oil. But that pressure from the massive weight of miles and miles of rock on top of it never actually goes away, so when you poke a hole in it, that pressure suddenly has a way to go, via the oil spewing up through the well.
Friso94
So basically the pressure is created by massive weight of miles and miles of rock on top of the oil that creates the well pressure. Is that correct?
Yes.
Ssiscool ★
Geologic forces are one thing, but there are different types of petroleum wells, ranging from crude oil to natural gas to combinations thereof. The lattermost, a oil/gas well, is most dangerous because it can suddenly start spewing natural gas when crude oil was expected. Tapping into an oil/gas well can be like popping the top on a can of soda: Gases are released from the fluid and expand rapidly, creating immense and unexpected pressure. In the case of the can of soda, the thing unexpectedly spews soda all over you and your clothing. In the case of an oil/gas well, the thing unexpectedly undergoes a gas blow-out and, potentially, a catastrophic explosion when it reaches the surface.
Charles Austin Miller