Copșa Mică gas field
 | Parts of this article (those related to remaining reserves and ongoing production) need to be updated. (April 2024) |
| Copșa Mică | |
|---|---|
| Country | Romania |
| Region | Sibiu County |
| Offshore/onshore | onshore |
| Operator | Romgaz |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 1915 |
| Start of development | 1915 |
| Start of production | 1920 |
| Production | |
| Current production of gas | 100×103 m3/d 3.7×106 cu ft/d 0.036×109 m3/a (1.3×109 cu ft/a) |
| Estimated gas in place | 80×109 m3 2.768×1012 cu ft |
The Copșa Mică gas field is a natural gas field located in Copșa Mică, Sibiu County, Romania. Discovered in 1915, it was developed by Romgaz, beginning production of natural gas and condensates in 1920. By 2010 the total proven reserves of the Copșa Mică gas field were around 2.77 trillion ft3 (80 km3), with a production rate of around 3.7 million ft3/day (0.1×105 m3).[1][2][3]
Overview[edit]
The gas deposits in Romania have a very long history of exploitation, almost unique at the level of Europe and among the few such old fields that are still in production in the world.[4] A quarter of Romania's natural gas reserves (100 billion m3 (3.5 trillion cu ft)) are located in Western Moldavia, Muntenia, and the Black Sea, with the remaining 75% located near methane gas reserve sites in Transylvania.[5] A fifth of these sites are located in the Giurgeu-Brașov Depression and Sibiu County, with the remainder located in Mureș County at sites such as Luduș, Șincai, Bazna, and Nadeș.[6]: 76 [7]: 102
History[edit]
In the interwar period, Romania's program of geological works and drilling was amplified, highlighting the gas deposits from Copșa Mică, Bazna, Șaroș, and Șincai.[8][9]
On July 13, 1933, the biggest fire in the history of Romania occurred at gas well number 5 in Copșa Mică, with the flames reaching a height of 150 m (490 ft). It took almost 7 years for the authorities to find a way to extinguish the fire, while American specialists were also called upon. In the end, the fire was put out by military forces, who used 4,681 drilling mud wagons and 3,753 water wagons, the equivalent of a 126 km (78 mi) long train set. After the fire was extinguished, there was a work stoppage, due to the opposition of the military authorities to work in the gas zone; this was due to the danger of the fire rekindling and it being easily detectable by enemy aircraft (see Bombing of Romania in World War II). Operations to stop the eruption resumed after 1944 and the gas eruption was finally eliminated in 1947. The eruption and the fire at the Copșa Mică gas field lasted 11 years in all; the gas flow estimated to have been lost through this eruption is equivalent to half of what the whole of Romania consumes in a year.[10]
The 1933 fire at the gas field led to the creation of a carbon black factory at Copșa Mică.[10] The emissions from the Copșa Mică works permeated the area for nearly sixty years, leaving soot on homes, trees, animals, and everything else in the area. For many years, the town was best known for its status as the second most polluted one in Europe after Chernobyl.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Gazul natural" (PDF). BCU Cluj. 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Industria de gaze naturale in perioada interbelica" (PDF). Muzeul Gazelor. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
- ^ Whiriskey, Keith (June 2012), Our future is carbon negative – A CCS roadmap for Romania, Bellona Foundation, p. 19, doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.24208.05122
- ^ Benea, Ionuț (December 28, 2022). "De ce a scăzut producția de gaze în 2022 și cât de vechi sunt zăcămintele exploatate de România" [Why gas production decreased in 2022 and how old are the fields exploited by Romania]. romania.europalibera.org (in Romanian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "Top 10 câmpuri petrolifere și gazeifere cu cea mai mare producție din România". www.economica.net (in Romanian). March 15, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ Berekmeri, Maria-Erzsebet (2006). "Built infrastructure disparities in Romania" (PDF). Romanian Review of Regional Studies. 2 (2): 74–80.
- ^ Pop, Andreea (2011). "The impact of the territory's public infrastructural level on the organization of the territory in the Reghin micro-region" (PDF). Geographica Timisiensis. 20 (2): 99–112. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Situație absurdă. Combinatul creat lângă zăcăminte, distrus de facturile la gazul metan iar compania de gaz nu mai are consum din lipsa fabricilor". www.tirnaveni.ro. April 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ Petrescu, Roxana (April 27, 2018). "Ce se va întâmpla cu gazele naturale ale României? Totul depinde de capacitatea intelectuală a autorităților". Ziarul Financiar (in Romanian). Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ a b Pal, Cosmin (July 8, 2023). "90 de ani de la cel mai mare incendiu din istoria României. A avut loc la Sonda 5 Copșa Mică, ce exploata gaze naturale" [90 years since the biggest fire in the history of Romania. It took place at Well 5 Copșa Mică, which exploited natural gas]. Sibiu 100 (in Romanian). Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ "Istoria orașului Copșa Mică – al doilea cel mai poluat oraș din Europa, după Cernobîl" [History of the city of Copșa Mică – the second most polluted city in Europe after Chernobyl]. Historia (in Romanian). Retrieved January 28, 2024.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Fire at the Copșa Mică gas well on YouTube
- Dumitru Chisăliță – The fire at Copșa Mică on YouTube
- Copșa Mică, Dudu's Dark Town – Astra Film Festival 2009 on YouTube
