If Russia's oil wells were destroyed on a widespread basis, the consequences would be very serious.

Although Russia has more than 130,000 active oil wells and around 2,000 explored oil and gas deposits, a widespread drop in production would have serious economic consequences for Moscow.

- Loss of production. A destroyed well immediately stops producing. If the destruction affects a large number of wells, national production would fall significantly.

- Permanent damage to some reservoirs. Many oil fields operate by maintaining a certain pressure through the injection of water or gas. Prolonged fires or damage to infrastructure can alter the behavior of the reservoir and make some of the oil unrecoverable.

- Slow and costly repairs. It is not enough to simply extinguish a fire. Drilling, wellheads, pipelines, pumping stations, and control systems must be rebuilt. Depending on the damage, recovery can take from weeks to several years.

- Massive loss of revenue. Oil and gas represent a very significant portion of Russian export revenues and a substantial fraction of state budget income. A sustained drop in production would reduce the capacity to finance public spending, including the war effort.

-Problems for domestic industry. Russia also consumes millions of barrels daily. If production were to fall sharply, there would be less raw material for refineries, and domestic supply restrictions could arise.

-Environmental damage. Large well fires generate enormous emissions, soil and water pollution, and can take months to extinguish.

But...if there are no refineries to which to send the crude oil, well closures will be inevitable.