Question

An oil well is producing 30000 barrels per year. The rate of production is continuously declining at a rate of 3 % per year. The well will be capped as unproductive when it produces 2400 barrels per year. How much will it produce before being capped?

Answer 1

The oil well will produce approximately 2400 barrels per year after around 81.65 years.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how much oil the well will produce before being capped, we need to determine the number of years it will take for the production rate to reach 2400 barrels per year.

We can set up an equation to solve for the number of years:

30000 * (1 - 0.03)^n = 2400

Where n represents the number of years.

Now, we can solve for n by applying logarithms:

(1 - 0.03)^n = 2400/30000

n*log(1 - 0.03) = log(2400/30000)

n = log(2400/30000) / log(1 - 0.03)

Using a calculator, we find that n ≈ 81.65 years.

Therefore, the well will produce approximately 2400 barrels per year after around 81.65 years.