Feb. 2001 Vol. 222 No. 2
Outlook 2001: United States
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DRILLING AND PRODUCING DEPTH RECORDS
Three new U.S. depth records set
Two depth records were set last year and one record was
reported early this year. Burlington Resources Bighorn 6-27 well in Madden field was drilled to
25,821-ft TVD. This is not only the deepest well drilled in Wyoming, but it is also the deepest well in any
Rocky Mountain state. Burlington also set a record for any Rocky Mountain state with its Bighorn 5-6 well,
with production from 24,938-ft TVD. The company could set more records in 2001 with its current drilling
program in the Deep Madison formation.
In the federal GOM, Shell Deepwater Production set a
new producing zone record in Garden Banks Block 602. Well OCS-G 11553-A2 is producing from a depth of 22,936
ft.
New to this years drilling table is an old record
just updated for New York State. The N.Y. State Natural Gas Co. drilled the Olin 1 in 1958 to a TVD of 13,500
ft.
It is interesting that there seems to be a scarcity of
new records as time passes. For example, as reported in
World Oils February 1947 issue, 15 national depth records were set in the 20-year period between
1927 and 1947, whereas no national depth records have been set in the past 23 years. The current U.S. well
with the deepest producing zone remains Chevrons Ruth Ledbetter 1, which began producing gas from 26,536
ft in 1977 (see Chronological records). The drilling depth record is Lone Star Productions Bertha
Rodgers 1 at 31,441-ft TVD, set in 1974. Perhaps the economics, technology and/or geology simply do not
justify greater depths.
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U.S. producing true vertical depth records |
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Chronological record of deepest producing zones in the U.S., since 1938 |
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U.S. drilling true vertical depth records |
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