producing formation | Energy Glossary

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producing formation

1. n. []

An underground rock formation from which oil, gas or water is produced. Any porous rock will contain fluids of some sort, and all rocks at considerable distance below the Earth's surface will initially be under pressure, often related to the hydrostatic column of ground waters above the reservoir. To produce, rocks must also have permeability, or the capacity to permit fluids to flow through them.