Grafschafter Spurensuche- Auf den Spuren des schwarzen Goldes

The municipality of Emlichheim not only has an extensive cycle path system, but also some beautiful hiking routes. Along the Vechte, you will pass fields, meadows and forests and follow in the footsteps of Emlichheim's history. Today, Emlichheim is one of the few places in the county of Bentheim where oil is still extracted. The typical horse-head pumps for oil production can be seen in some places. The Wintershall site in Emlichheim is one of the oldest oil production sites in Germany. Production has been going on here for 70 years - currently around 170,000 tons of crude oil per year. In recent years, the company has invested massively in crude oil production in Emlichheim. Due to the highly viscous oil, extraction here is particularly challenging. The company therefore relies on a special technique in which steam at a temperature of 300 degrees is injected into the oil reservoirs under high pressure. The heat warms up the crude oil, making it flow more easily through the reservoir to the production wells.

Note: Follow the signs in orange!