The well located on the territory of the Kola Peninsula occupies the first position in the list of "Super Deep Wells of the World". It was drilled to study the structure of deep terrestrial rocks. Unlike other available wells on the planet, this one was drilled exclusively from a scientific research point of view and was not used to extract useful resources.
Location of the Kola superdeep station
Where is the Kola superdeep well located? It is located in the Murmansk region, near the town of Zapolyarny (about 10 kilometers from it). The location of the well is truly unique. It was laid on the territory of the Baltic Shield, in the Kola Peninsula region. It is where the earth pushes various ancient rocks to the surface every day.
Near the well is the Pechenga-Imandra-Varzugsky riftogenic deflection resulting from a fault.
Kola superdeep well: history of occurrence
In honor of the centennial on the occasion of the birthday of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in the first half of 1970, the beginning of well drilling was laid.
May 24, 1970, after the geological expedition approved the location of the well, work was started. To a depth of about 7 thousand meters, everything went smoothly and smoothly. After crossing the seven-thousandth milestone, the work went more complicated and constant collapses began to occur.
As a result of constant breaks in the lifting mechanisms and breaks in the drill heads, as well as regular collapses, the walls of the well were exposed to the cementing process. However, due to constant malfunctions, work continued for several years and went extremely slowly.
On June 6, 1979, the depth of the well crossed the line of 9583 meters, thus breaking the world record for the United States of America oil well in Berta Rogers, located in Oklahoma. At that time, about 16 scientific laboratories were continuously working in the Kola well, and the drilling process was personally controlled by the Minister of Geology of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Kozlovsky.
In 1983, when the depth of the Kola superdeep well reached 12,066 meters, the work was temporarily frozen due to preparations for the 1984 International Geological Congress. At the end of the work were resumed.
Resumption of work fell on September 27, 1984. But at the first descent, the drill string was cut off, and once again the well collapsed. Work resumed from a depth of about 7 thousand meters.
In 1990, the depth of the borehole reached a record 12,262 meters. After the collapse of the next column, an order was received to stop drilling the well and complete the work.
Current state of the Kola well
In early 2008, an ultra-deep well on the Kola Peninsula was considered abandoned, equipment was dismantled, and a project was already launched to demolish existing buildings and laboratories.
At the beginning of 2010, the director of the Kola Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that at present the well has undergone a process of conservation and is being destroyed independently. Since then, the question of her has not been raised.
Well depth to date
Currently, the Kola superdeep well, a photo of which is presented to the attention of the reader in the article, is considered one of the largest drilling projects on the planet. Its official depth is 12,263 meters.
Sounds in the Kola Well
When the drilling rigs crossed the line of 12 thousand meters, the workers began to hear strange sounds coming from the depths. At first they did not attach any importance to this. However, when all the drilling equipment froze, and deathly silence hung in the well, unusual sounds came, which the workers themselves called "the cries of sinners in hell." Since the sounds of an ultra-deep well were considered rather unusual, it was decided to record them using heat-resistant microphones. When the recordings were heard, everyone was amazed - they looked like screams and screeches of people.
A few hours after listening to the recordings, workers found traces of a powerful explosion of previously unknown origin. The work was temporarily discontinued until the circumstances were clarified. However, they were resumed after a few days. Having again descended into the well, everyone with bated breath expected to hear human screams, but there was truly deathly silence there.
When the trial on the origin of sounds began, questions began to be asked about who heard what. Amazed and frightened workers tried to avoid answering these questions and only waved the phrase: “I heard something strange ...” Only after a large amount of time and at the close of the project was it put forward that the sounds of unknown origin are the sound of movement of tectonic plates. This version has been refuted over time.
Secrets that shrouded the wells
In 1989, the Kola ultra-deep well, the sounds from which excite the human imagination, was called the "road to hell." The legend arose on the air of the American television company, which took April Fools' article in the Finnish newspaper about the Kola well for reality. The article said that every kilometer drilled on the way to the 13th brought the country complete misfortunes. According to legend, at a depth of 12 thousand meters, workers began to imagine human cries for help, which were recorded on ultra-sensitive microphones.
With each new kilometer on the way to the 13th, disasters occurred in the country, so, on the above path, the USSR collapsed.
It was also noted that, having drilled a well up to 14.5 thousand meters, the workers came across empty "rooms", the temperature in which reached 1100 degrees Celsius. Having lowered one of the heat-resistant microphones into one of these holes, we recorded groans, rattles and screams. These sounds were called the “voice of the underworld,” and the well itself became known only as the “road to hell.”
However, the research group itself soon refuted this legend. Scientists reported that the depth of the well at that time was only 12,263 meters, and the maximum recorded temperature was 220 degrees Celsius. Only one fact remained unverified, due to which the Kola superdeep well has such dubious fame - sounds.
Interview with one of the workers of the Kola superdeep well
In an interview on the refutation of the legend of the Kola well, David Mironovich Huberman said: “When they ask me about the veracity of this legend and the existence of the demon that we found there, I reply that this is complete nonsense. But to be honest, I can not refute the fact that we are faced with something supernatural. At first, sounds began to bother us of unknown origin, then there was an explosion. When we looked into the well, at the same depth, after a few days, everything was absolutely normal ... "
What is the benefit of drilling the Kola superdeep well?
Of course, one of the main advantages of the appearance of this well can be called significant progress in the field of drilling. New methods and types of drilling have been developed. Also, personally drilling and scientific equipment was created for the Kola ultra-deep well, which is still used today.
Another plus was the discovery of a new location of valuable natural resources, including gold.
The main scientific goal of the project to study the deep layers of the earth has been achieved. Many theories have been refuted (including the basaltic layer of the earth).
The number of super-deep wells in the world
In total, there are about 25 ultra-deep wells on the planet.
Most of them are located on the territory of the former USSR, but about 8 are located around the world.
Ultra-deep wells located in the former USSR
On the territory of the Soviet Union there was a huge number of superdeep wells, but the following should be highlighted:
- Muruntau well. In depth, the well reaches only 3 thousand meters. Located in the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the small village of Muruntau. Well drilling began in 1984 and has not yet been completed.
- Kryvyi Rih well. In depth it reaches only 5383 meters out of 12 thousand conceived. Drilling began in 1984 and ended in 1993. The location of the well is considered Ukraine, the vicinity of the city of Krivoy Rog.
- Dnieper-Donetsk well. She is a countrywoman of the previous one and is also located in Ukraine, near the Donetsk Republic. The depth of the well today is 5691 meters. Drilling began in 1983 and continues to the present.
- Ural well. It has a depth of 6100 meters. Located in the Sverdlovsk region, near the town of Verkhnyaya Tura. Work on drilling the well lasted for 20 years, starting from 1985 and ending in 2005.
- Biikzhalsky well. Its depth reaches 6700 meters. Well drilling took place from 1962 to 1971. It is located on the Caspian lowland.
- Aralskol well. Its depth is one hundred meters more than Biikzhalskaya and is only 6800 meters. The year of drilling and the location of the well are completely identical with the Biizhal well.
- Timan-Pechora well. Its depth reaches 6904 meters. Located in the Komi Republic. To be more precise, in the Vuktyl region. Work on drilling the well lasted about 10 years, from 1984 to 1993.
- Tyumen well. Depth reaches 7502 meters from 8000 planned. A well is located near the city of Novy Urengoy and the village of Korotchaevo. Drilling took place from 1987 to 1996.
- Shevchenko well. It was drilled during one of 1982 with the aim of oil production in Western Ukraine. The depth of the well is 7520 meters. Located in the Carpathian region.
- En-Yahinsky well. It has a depth of about 8250 meters. The only well that exceeded the drilling plan (originally planned 6000). Located in Western Siberia, near the city of Novy Urengoy. Drilling lasted from 2000 to 2006. It was currently the last operating super-deep well in Russia.
- Saatli well. Its depth is 8324 meters. Drilling was carried out from 1977 to 1982. It is located in Azerbaijan, 10 kilometers from the city of Saatli, within the Kursk Bulge.
World super-deep wells
In other countries, there are also a number of ultra-deep wells that cannot be ignored:
- Sweden. Siljan Ring is 6,800 meters deep.
- Kazakhstan. Tasym Southeast depth of 7050 meters.
- USA. Bighorn 7583 meters deep.
- Austria. Zisterdorf with a depth of 8553 meters.
- USA. University with a depth of 8686 meters.
- Germany. KTB-Oberpfalz with a depth of 9101 meters.
- USA. Beydat Unit is 9159 meters deep.
- USA. Berta Rogers 9583 meters deep.
World super-deepest world records
In 2008, the Kola well world record was broken by the Maersk oil well. Its depth is 12,290 meters.
After that, several more world records of super-deep wells were recorded:
- In early January 2011, the record was broken by a Sakhalin-1 oil production well, the depth of which reaches 12,345 meters.
- In June 2013, the record was broken by a well in the Chayvinskoye field, the depth of which was 12,700 meters.
However, the mysteries and secrets of the Kola superdeep well have not been disclosed and explained to this day. Regarding the sounds present during its drilling, new theories are emerging to this day. Who knows, maybe this is really the fruit of wild human imagination? Well, then why so many eyewitnesses? Maybe in the near future there will be a person who will give a scientific explanation of what is happening, or perhaps the well will remain a legend that will be retold for many centuries ...