Can't speak to these particular wells but it's been standard technology for many many decades here to be able to shut in wells and reopen them, many even can be shut in or restarted remotely . Even well rates can be controlled remotely with actuated chokes on flowing wells and with variable speed drive motors on electrically driven lift pumps. If the wells were bombed or otherwise damaged then those controls could be compromised if they even had said controls in place tho.

The short answer is in a modern oil/gas field if storage were full or export pipelines were not moving product the wells would most likely shut in on their own or could be with a few keystrokes. A planned shut in of a well could be done at a controlled rate to avoid a hard shut in that might cause formation damage .

Wells in older fields may not be so equipped so they'd have to be manually shut in but it can still be done via site visits provided of course the valves and equipment have been maintained and there's not something like a fire restricting access .

If the trees (surface valves) and piping are damaged and you have wells flowing freely to atmosphere than that's a completely different animal that is going to require well control intervention. If that's the case on multiple wells then that suggests sabotage of some type like bombing. I can't think of a reason the Iranians would want their wells flowing to atmosphere uncontrolled . They would just be depleting their own reserves and possible causing downhole damage that is very expensive to stop and later reestablish.

MaxPower said:

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Fitch said:

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Read a while back that fires in the fields could also be an intentional, engineered, strategy to avoid having to shut in wells (and risk losing them wholesale) given Iran is totally out of storage space for product extracted from the ground.

No telling if that's what's going on or extra-military action, but the oil market gurus on Bloomberg TV were talking about it as a strategy to delay the biggest effects of the blockade some months back.

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Any petroleum engineers on here? I hear about this a lot. Curious if there are or could be technologies that allow wells to be easily "turned off" in the event storage is full but also easily turned back on. It seems like that would be preferable to burning supply you may need at some future date. Most of these ME producers should be looking into that.

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Maybe some different sands/structure to these but with 11 years offshore experience I once saw all of our wells come back online after a year shut in due to hurricane repairs.

I'm not sure why everyone on here/in the news acts like shutting them in can damage the formation. All you did was stick a big straw into it and then stop drinking from it. And based on the formation sizes it's actually usually a microscopic straw. Hell, edited to add the above poster mentions shutting them in slowly, off shore they must shut within 60 seconds on ESD if I remember correctly.

I'll hang up and wait with interest for someone with a degree to answer, though.

Or gas lift.

Reginald Cousins said:

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MaxPower said:

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Fitch said:

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Read a while back that fires in the fields could also be an intentional, engineered, strategy to avoid having to shut in wells (and risk losing them wholesale) given Iran is totally out of storage space for product extracted from the ground.

No telling if that's what's going on or extra-military action, but the oil market gurus on Bloomberg TV were talking about it as a strategy to delay the biggest effects of the blockade some months back.

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Any petroleum engineers on here? I hear about this a lot. Curious if there are or could be technologies that allow wells to be easily "turned off" in the event storage is full but also easily turned back on. It seems like that would be preferable to burning supply you may need at some future date. Most of these ME producers should be looking into that.

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Maybe some different sands/structure to these but with 11 years offshore experience I once saw all of our wells come back online after a year shut in due to hurricane repairs.

I'm not sure why everyone on here/in the news acts like shutting them in can damage the formation. All you did was stick a big straw into it and then stop drinking from it. And based on the formation sizes it's actually usually a microscopic straw. Hell, edited to add the above poster mentions shutting them in slowly, off shore they must shut within 60 seconds on ESD if I remember correctly.

I'll hang up and wait with interest for someone with a degree to answer, though.

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I think people confuse regular production with shale and frac'ing wells. With frac jobs you use propant like sand to hold the cracks open. Cycling the well can damage that and close the cracks. So, each time you bring the wells on you get less production. Once you bring a frac'ed well online you want to keep it on, particularly in the first 90 days.

Now, it's been 10 years since I've been around that so the technology may have changed.

Cepe said:

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Reginald Cousins said:

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MaxPower said:

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Fitch said:

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Read a while back that fires in the fields could also be an intentional, engineered, strategy to avoid having to shut in wells (and risk losing them wholesale) given Iran is totally out of storage space for product extracted from the ground.

No telling if that's what's going on or extra-military action, but the oil market gurus on Bloomberg TV were talking about it as a strategy to delay the biggest effects of the blockade some months back.

---

Any petroleum engineers on here? I hear about this a lot. Curious if there are or could be technologies that allow wells to be easily "turned off" in the event storage is full but also easily turned back on. It seems like that would be preferable to burning supply you may need at some future date. Most of these ME producers should be looking into that.

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Maybe some different sands/structure to these but with 11 years offshore experience I once saw all of our wells come back online after a year shut in due to hurricane repairs.

I'm not sure why everyone on here/in the news acts like shutting them in can damage the formation. All you did was stick a big straw into it and then stop drinking from it. And based on the formation sizes it's actually usually a microscopic straw. Hell, edited to add the above poster mentions shutting them in slowly, off shore they must shut within 60 seconds on ESD if I remember correctly.

I'll hang up and wait with interest for someone with a degree to answer, though.

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I think people confuse regular production with shale and frac'ing wells. With frac jobs you use propant like sand to hold the cracks open. Cycling the well can damage that and close the cracks. So, each time you bring the wells on you get less production. Once you bring a frac'ed well online you want to keep it on, particularly in the first 90 days.

Now, it's been 10 years since I've been around that so the technology may have changed.

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We had 4 or 5 fracked wells (out of the 28ish) on my structure.

They generally behaved like the rest.

Probably 25ish wells on gas lift. 3 or 4 naturally flowing.

But yes, I could see where letting everything settle in after fracking would be advantageous as well as keeping it choked properly.

Needless to say life in Iran cannot be very enjoyable these days with all the economic squeeze going on. I guess if you are a IRGC guy you have to be assessing your situation where you are not getting paid and your money you might have squirreled away is frozen but the only thing you know to do is fire something at tankers in the Straight so you keep doing that until the missiles or drones play out. Cannot be a fun position to be in.

Agree shutting in wells is not generally a big deal but if you had a choice you'd prefer they be shut in soft (ramped down in steps) versus just slammed shut hard especially a well flowing at high rates and as someone else said especially a newly fracced well. You're absolutely right wrt offshore wells , they have to be shut in on ESD within 60 secs but if your'e sitting on a postage stamp surrounded by water and a fire starts you need flow to stop right now . Some of the GoA offshore wells have extremely unconsolidated sand formations that will start making sand as well if you have too much drawdown and the flow gets super erosive. Formations falling apart downhole is generally not a good thing. I would suggest ramping them up slowly after a shut in is probably more important than ramping them down on a shut in.

ChatGPT's closing summary paragraph is worth noting.

Quote:

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The claim that Iranian geology makes shutting wells inherently destructive is therefore overstated. Iran does have unusually large mature fractured-carbonate reservoirs that require careful management, and some individual wells could suffer lasting productivity losses. But controlled temporary shut-ins can generally be managed, and some fractured reservoirs may actually experience beneficial gravity drainage while resting.

The serious risk begins if a temporary storage problem turns into a prolonged, poorly managed shutdown lasting many months, particularly if gas/water injection is disrupted and sanctions prevent Iran from obtaining the equipment, chemicals and services needed to restore damaged wells. At that point, Iran could lose meaningful future production capacity, even though most of the oil itself would remain underground.

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FIDO95 said:

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ErnestEndeavor said:

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The Yemeni government announced they have retaken the key islands in the Bab al Mandab strait from the Houthis and claim the government forces now have complete control over the strait again.

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We should just continue to let the Arabs take care of the barbarians in their backyard. They can get a lot more tribal than we can. The IRG is going to wish the Americans had been around to surrender to when the Persians take back their country.

Los mercenarios saudies y el ejercito de yemen estan persiguiendo a los huties por la costa del estrecho mandeb y los pisan con los autos

Una bronca tenian pic.twitter.com/aGBigMfh4P

— ElBuni (@therealbuni) October 5, 2026

Didn't realize it posted caption in Spanish. Essentially, Saudi mercenaries are running over fleeing Houthis for sport. There are worse videos than this one showing up.

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Where are they and can you post them

Key word is "admitted" — the IRGC just confirmed what the shipping data already showed: Hormuz was never fully closed. The "soon" threat is priced in; actual interdiction isn't.

— World Signal (@arya_explains) October 7, 2026

Pretty comical, really. Reminds me of when mensa herman answered a question about nfl talent on his sip team; 'some.'

I’ve been holding off on RAF Fairford because there were too many missing pieces. We have more of them now.

The United States did not simply decide it was time to bring the B-1s home. Reuters is reporting that two U.S. officials say intelligence concerning a possible complex…

— Supersonic Redhead🛫 (@Supersonic_Red) October 6, 2026

Quote:

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Iran says recognition of its right to uranium enrichment is a red line, insisting it will not abandon enrichment but could negotiate the details later.

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IRAN REJECTS U.S. NUCLEAR PROPOSALS, INSISTS ON ENRICHMENT RIGHTS

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that U.S. proposals for Tehran’s nuclear program are “at odds with Iran’s demands,” adding there have been no negotiations and Washington must first meet Tehran’s conditions.…

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) October 7, 2026

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Iran says recognition of its right to uranium enrichment is a red line, insisting it will not abandon enrichment but could negotiate the details later.

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The US could probably agree to Iranian enrichment of U235 up to 3-5% for peaceful purposes with verifiable inspections. The kicker is verifiable enrichment levels. Huge difference between "limited civilian reactor fuel enrichment" versus "unlimited weapons grade enrichment."

Exactly. We've seen this movie many times before .

At this point it feels to me that Trump isn't going to be satisfied with anything less than Iranian regime change altho it's uncertain what that will look like .

Oil not much of an issue at this point but refined products still squeezed.

Quote:

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Gulf crude and condensate exports recovered to about 91% of pre-Iran-war levels in September, but refined-fuel exports are still only about 60% of pre-war levels.

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benchmark said:

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Quote:

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Iran says recognition of its right to uranium enrichment is a red line, insisting it will not abandon enrichment but could negotiate the details later.

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The US could probably agree to Iranian enrichment of U235 up to 3-5% for peaceful purposes with verifiable inspections. The kicker is verifiable enrichment levels. Huge difference between "limited civilian reactor fuel enrichment" versus "unlimited weapons grade enrichment."

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Trump should publicly make that offer just so Iran can reject it.

Unfortunately we all know this means their red line isnt a out enrichment but nuclear weapons.
Keep the blockade up, keep banking sanctions going. Let them rot from the inside. Lot of civilians will pay the price but thats war.

Dont forget theyre experiencing massive water issues before any of this started. Including talks of relocating the capital. Going to be impossible to do that without resources.

Deerdude said:

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They can't be trusted with any agreement like that. They are habitual liars.

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FIFY

bomb them...

then bomb them some more

YouBet said:

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Oil not much of an issue at this point but refined products still squeezed.

Quote:

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Gulf crude and condensate exports recovered to about 91% of pre-Iran-war levels in September, but refined-fuel exports are still only about 60% of pre-war levels.

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This seems very accurate based on what we're seeing where I work (Downstream Major O&G)

How long or what ends up being the economic breaking point and how close do we think we are too that point?

CheersforBeers said:

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How long or what ends up being the economic breaking point and how close do we think we are too that point?

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History doesn't point to the idea that less than 1 year is even an option. Countries have survived for many years under similar circumstances, and there isn't the political will here to force that to happen, even within the administration. It's hard to negotiate with people who see the world through a fundamentally different lense.

The only thing that will get them to back down is if Pakistan, Turkey, and the Saudis turn up the heat enough to convince Iran that further conflict will be mutually assured destruction.

For the historians, reflect back to the US circa 1836 - 1860s. see the US government negotiations with the numerous Comanche factions within the Texas Oklahoma territories. Many similarities as far looking at the world through completely different lenses and understanding of each sides beliefs or stances. Both sides having zero understanding of the other. Not picking sides, just pointing out the similarities.

Cepe said:

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Reginald Cousins said:

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MaxPower said:

---

Fitch said:

---

Read a while back that fires in the fields could also be an intentional, engineered, strategy to avoid having to shut in wells (and risk losing them wholesale) given Iran is totally out of storage space for product extracted from the ground.

No telling if that's what's going on or extra-military action, but the oil market gurus on Bloomberg TV were talking about it as a strategy to delay the biggest effects of the blockade some months back.

---

Any petroleum engineers on here? I hear about this a lot. Curious if there are or could be technologies that allow wells to be easily "turned off" in the event storage is full but also easily turned back on. It seems like that would be preferable to burning supply you may need at some future date. Most of these ME producers should be looking into that.

---

Maybe some different sands/structure to these but with 11 years offshore experience I once saw all of our wells come back online after a year shut in due to hurricane repairs.

I'm not sure why everyone on here/in the news acts like shutting them in can damage the formation. All you did was stick a big straw into it and then stop drinking from it. And based on the formation sizes it's actually usually a microscopic straw. Hell, edited to add the above poster mentions shutting them in slowly, off shore they must shut within 60 seconds on ESD if I remember correctly.

I'll hang up and wait with interest for someone with a degree to answer, though.

---

I think people confuse regular production with shale and frac'ing wells. With frac jobs you use propant like sand to hold the cracks open. Cycling the well can damage that and close the cracks. So, each time you bring the wells on you get less production. Once you bring a frac'ed well online you want to keep it on, particularly in the first 90 days.

Now, it's been 10 years since I've been around that so the technology may have changed.

---

The results from shutting frac'd wells off is that the pore pressure at the bottom of the well declines over time regardless of if you're extracting fluid out the top or not. After fracking, if you close the well in, the fluid is going to slowly move through the rock to release the pressure as its still slightly permeable and hydraulics don't need much movement to destroy pressure.

Someone was claiming that there is something specific about iranian well design that make them suspectable to losing pressure. The same claims were made about russian wells as well. I have no idea what production losses those well see from being closed. By guess would be either sand settling, or their completion technology doesn't do a good job keeping other fines out of the completed well and they settle and get packoff.

Good read.

Al Jazeera: What would it take for the Yemen offensive to succeed?

Quote:

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There is a complication. The Houthis' calculus is no longer purely Yemeni. Their decisions are now entangled with Tehran's war and its bargaining with Washington. Even significant battlefield losses may not produce flexibility in the group if its leadership believes concessions should be traded within a wider regional deal. A specifically Yemeni settlement may therefore depend partly on movement in a negotiation that Yemenis do not control.

Over the coming weeks, four indicators will tell us which way the war is turning: whether government forces retake and hold the coast and the strait islands; whether the Taiz-Aden road is reopened; whether the Houthis are forced to pull forces from Taiz to defend the coast and Marib; and whether recovered areas come under a single command and receive salaries and services.

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For now, it still sounds like the Saudi's, Paki's, and Turki's won't be providing ground troops.

Pakistan Air Force jets are striking the Houthis in Yemen, according to a senior Pakistani military official who spoke anonymously to The New York Times. Pakistan's military declined to comment. The Times reports that Pakistan and Turkey activated the Mecca defense pact this week… pic.twitter.com/u0VVvRdqug

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 8, 2026

Interesting they sent those and not their newer Chinese fighters. Pakistan does have a functioning air force, unlike the perfumed princes flying expensive gear for practice/photos of the Saudis.

That may just be a file photo.

Good point.

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber announced that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has been cleared of Houthi forces, describing it as a victory for Yemenis and Arabs. The statement follows a Yemeni government offensive launched this week to retake Houthi-held territory, after…

— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) October 9, 2026

NEW: Saudi Arabia will not agree to a cease-fire with the Houthis until the Saudi-backed Yemeni government regains all territory lost in recent weeks, a regional source told AFP.

The source added that Riyadh would not give in to Houthi “military blackmail.”

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 9, 2026

TBF, I have a tough time really caring about these pathetic tribal pillow fights. The Houthis never actually controlled the Bab al Mandab strait, for even a single day. All they can really do is fire some rockets/harass the Saudis (and fellow yemeni tribes).

Several police officers reportedly injured in IED explosion targeting police vehicle in Cheshmeh Ziarat area of Zahedan, Iran

Interesting that IED and gorilla tactics could be the key rather than open warfare the citizens are not armed/trained for.

IRGC says actions against violating vessels will not be limited to Strait of Hormuz, adds any vessel passing through unauthorized route will be pursued throughout Middle East.

They're gonna chase them down in some 16' carolina skiffs