Crude oil specimen

• State Company for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Explorations, from the Reinkenhagen and Grimmen structure,
  250 to 300 million years old,
  specimen extracted in 1965; height: 15 cm

The specimen contained in the Erlenmeyer flask was donated in 1987 by the State Company for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Explorations Grimmen to the local Heimatmuseum, which opened the same year.

The State Company for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Gommern, Ludwigslust Explorations Department, starts its successful prospecting for crude oil and natural gas in the Grimmen region in 1960. The State Company for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Explorations Grimmen is founded on 1 October 1962. This is in response to the discovery of the first crude oil fields in the north-east of the GDR in the Reinkenhagen structure.

The reservoir rocks are mainly Zechstein and Rotliegend formations found at depths of between 2,500 and 3,500 m.

Crude oil is produced by micro-organisms that inhabited the seas and the sea floors, where they embedded themselves in the sludge. The absence of air, high pressure and temperature and progressive immersion converts the organisms into hydrocarbons (crude oil and natural gas). The colour of crude oil varies from amber-yellow to brown and black, while its consistency ranges from mobile to viscous and even solid.

The population in the former county town of Grimmen grows significantly when the industry settles here. Two new districts are built. Schools are opened alongside cultural and sporting facilities. By 1986 the town has around 15,000 inhabitants. Extraction stops on 30 June 1996 due to a drop in production output and the low global market prices. The company is liquidated in 2001.