{{Dicdef Repressuring is a common method of increasing the pressure inside of a crude oil well in order to increase the output of the well. Pumping crude oil from a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

causes its pressure to drop, which further reduces pumpability. Returning the natural gas or other inert gases to the oil well increases the pumpability of the crude present inside the well by decreasing its

viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inte ...

and

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

. In one instance, slower rate of oil production and recycling of natural gas at 9.6

MPa MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mou ...

enabled a net recovery of 70% of the oil originally present. Although recovery can be increased even by repressuring with air, air is seldom used because it causes an inferior quality of product. Instead carbon dioxide or natural gas itself is used so as to not only increase the recovery from the oil well but also to maintain the high quality of the product.

External links