An Oil field is a tract of land used for the purpose of extracting Petroleums (Crude Oil and Natural), from under the ground. Identifying viable oil fields is an important piece of the Upstream Oil industry. Oil field consists of a reservoir of fossil fuel found deep in the rocky strata of the Earth, where Hydrocarbons have become trapped.

Currently, there are more than 65,000 oil fields around the world, with many of the largest located in the Middle East. Despite the large number of fields 94% of known reserves are concentrated in fewer than 1500 major oil fields.

But why we give names to Oil Fields?

At present Oil fields can be identified by their block numbers or using the modern coordinate system (Latitude and Longitude). However, giving oil fields names help personalise and identify it throughout its life cycle.

So, how do Oil Fields are Named?

The answer (surprisingly) is that there are no rules for naming Oil fields! Depending on where you are in the world, Names are generally, but not always, chosen to suit an existing naming convention, such as natural history, famous figures, first names, area names or mountains.

For example, in Norway, the Government guidelines dictate fields must bear Norwegian names with significance to the country’s heritage.

Historically, in many locations around the world, fields were named by the Geologists or the Drilling teams who conduct the exploration works, not by CEOs or marketing teams. And, in an industry that is Male dominated, a lot of the nomenclature is Female.

How about where you live, what names are used for the Oil Field? and why?

Please let me know :)