What is Oil well?
{{multiple issues| {{context|date=March 2024}} {{globalise|date=March 2024}} }} '''An oil well''' is a [[well]] to get [[petroleum]] from the ground. People in the [[petroleum industry]] look for a place that might have oil. They drill a hole deep in the ground and, if the oil is there, then pump it up from the hole. Most oil is very deep underground. == History == More than 5,000 years ago, ancient people like the Sumerians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, used things like crude oil, bitumen, and asphalt from places like Tuttul (now called Hīt) on the Euphrates River. They used these substances for lots of things. The Egyptians were the first to use liquid oil as a kind of medicine, probably for healing wounds, as a rub for sore muscles, and to help with digestion. The Assyrians, on the other hand, used bitumen as a punishment by pouring it over people who broke the law.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-05-09|title=Petroleum {{!}} Energy, Products, & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/petroleum|access-date=2024-05-14|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> In ancient times, oil and its products were also important for fighting wars. The Persians, for example, used arrows soaked in oil to set things on fire during battles. Later, people in places like Arabia and Persia learned to make flammable stuff from crude oil for military use. This knowledge eventually spread to [[Europe]], likely because of the Arab invasion of Spain, and by the 12th century, Europeans were learning how to turn oil into things that could light up the darkness. A few hundred years later, Spanish explorers found oil coming out of the ground in places like Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru. In [[North America]], there were also lots of places where oil would naturally seep out of the ground. Early explorers in what's now New York and Pennsylvania noticed this, and even American Indians were known to use the oil for medicine. Oil wells can be classified by '''purpose''': * '''Production wells''' produce gas or oil.