Given the unimaginable volume of petroleum products we have been extracting over a century, why does the Earth not crumble on itself from the void?

Question

Given the unimaginable volume of petroleum products we have been extracting over a century, why does the Earth not crumble on itself from the void?

In: 3

Answer 1

[It can](https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/does-oil-drilling-cause-sinkholes-or-earthquakes/). The oil needs to be replaced with other liquids, either intentionally or by natural pressure-equalizing processes. If it’s not replaced, the pressure is sufficient to collapse the void, even though the void is made of a less-dense clump rock rather than a literal cavern. Because it’s the compression of rock, the effect is typically not as dramatic as a sinkhole, and not as fast.