OUTLOOK 2004: United States
Depth Records

One new GOM depth record set

It would seem a natural consequence of geology that, over time, the rate at which new records are set would slow. That is indeed the case. We stopped publishing the table Chronological records of the deepest producing zones two years ago because it had not changed since 1980. Refer to past issues (1980 – 2001) if you are interested.

Fifty years ago, these tables saw considerable revision year-to-year. It is a reflection of the maturity of the US oil patch that these records are changing very little as time passes. The new depth record set in 2003 was in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is still some relatively underexplored territory. The 31,824-ft TVD well, named Tonga 1, was drilled by ChevronTexaco in Green Canyon Block 727 in December last year in 4,695 ft of water. The well had an impressive downhole pressure of 26,138 psi.

	US producing true vertical depth records
	US drilling true vertical depth records

Another depth record was made by Shell at its Princess development, located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 765 and 766 in 3,650-ft deep water. The Gulf of Mexico drilling depth record is 33,200 ft, but it is a measured depth, not true vertical, and therefore it did not make our tables.

World Oil continues to poll state and federal agencies for these records to make them as accurate as possible. However, if you have personal knowledge of a different TVD record, please write: editorial@worldoil.com with the new information and we'll check it out.