What happens to all the space underground after we remove oil?

Question

The world has removed billions of barrels of oil from the ground. What happens to all the space underground? Why don't we have huge sinkholes?

Answer 1

There is oil underground, which you know, when there down with the oil spot they collapse it.

Answer 2

In some instances gas has been pumped there as a place to store it

Answer 3

Once a well has been pumped dry they reverse-pump sewage into the resultant void.  Or ought-to.

Answer 4

When it's extracted oil does not leave "space underground" as you are thinking of it because oil is not found in large underground caverns of vast open space, rather it is found in the inter-granular spaces in sedimentary rocks (that means it exists in-between the grains making up the rock). These spaces are quite small individually (just like sand on a beach) but taken as a whole they can hold vast quantities of liquid (water aquifers work the same way). Think of the reserves as rigid underground sponges and you've got the idea.  When oil is extracted, the space can be left empty or more frequently is filled by water pressing in behind the oil. So there really aren't large voids left behind to form sinkholes.

Sinkholes form by a completely different process in areas which have underground Karst topography - areas of buried limestone caves.  When these caves get close to the surface (i.e. become exposed by erosion) then sinkholes can develop as the soil on the surface collapses into the cave below ground.

    

Answer 5

Theory has it that the earhts plates move inside of the earth causing earthquakes and volcanoes perhaps from the lack of any fluid to keep the friction at a minimum. I concur with that alot too.

Answer 6

i would think it fills up with water.

Answer 7

I think that is filled with the old oil from Walmart's Tire and Lube Express, right?