The well, located on the territory of the Kola Peninsula, occupies the first positions in the list of "Super-deep wells of the world". It was drilled to study the structure of deep earth rocks. Unlike other existing wells on the planet, this one was drilled solely from a research point of view and was not used for the purpose of extracting useful resources.
Location of the Kola Superdeep Station
Where is the Kola Superdeep Well located? It is located in the Murmansk region, near the city of Zapolyarny (about 10 kilometers from it). The location of the well is truly unique. It was laid on the territory of the B altic Shield, in the area of the Kola Peninsula. Exactly where the earth pushes various ancient rocks to the surface every day.
Next to the well is the Pechenga-Imandra-Varzug rift trough formed as a result of a fault.
Kola super-deep well: history of appearance
In honor of the centennial anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in the first half of 1970, the drilling of a well began.
On May 24, 1970, after the geological expedition approved the location of the well, work began. Up to a depth of about 7,000 meters, everything went easily and smoothly. After crossing the 7,000th milestone, the work became more difficult and constant collapses began to occur.
As a result of the constant breakage of lifting mechanisms and breakage of drilling heads, as well as regular collapses, the walls of the well were subject to the cementing process. However, due to constant malfunctions, work continued for several years and was extremely slow.
On June 6, 1979, the depth of the well crossed the threshold of 9583 meters, thereby breaking the world record for oil production in the United States of America by Bert Rogers, located in Oklahoma. At that time, about sixteen 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 Evgeny Alexandrovich Kozlovsky.
In 1983, when the depth of the Kola super-deep well reached 12,066 meters, work was temporarily frozen in connection with preparations for the 1984 International Geological Congress. Upon its completion, work was resumed.
Resumption of work fell on September 27, 1984. But during the first descent, the drill string was cut off, and once again the well collapsed. Worksresumed from a depth of about 7 thousand meters.
In 1990, the depth of the drill well reached a record 12,262 meters. After the break of the next column, an order was received to stop drilling the well and complete the work.
Current state of the Kola well
At the beginning of 2008, an ultra-deep well on the Kola Peninsula was considered abandoned, the equipment was dismantled, and a project was already underway to demolish existing buildings and laboratories.
In early 2010, the director of the Kola Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that at present the well has undergone a conservation process and is being destroyed on its own. Since then, the issue has not been raised.
Depth of the well today
At present, the Kola superdeep well, the photo of which is presented to 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 12,000-meter milestone, 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 stopped, and deathly silence hung in the well, unusual sounds were heard, 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 usingheat resistant microphones. When the recordings were listened to, everyone was amazed - they looked like people screaming and squealing.
Hours after listening to the recordings, workers found traces of a powerful explosion of previously unknown origin. Work was temporarily stopped until the circumstances were clarified. However, they 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.
When the investigation about the origin of sounds began, questions began to be asked about who heard what. The amazed and frightened workers tried to avoid answering these questions and only dismissed the phrase: “I heard something strange …” Only after a long time and after the project was closed, a version was put forward that the sounds of unknown origin are the sound of the movement of tectonic plates. This version was eventually refuted.
Secrets shrouded in the well
In 1989, the Kola super-deep well, the sounds from which excite the human imagination, was called "the road to hell." The legend originated on the air of an American television company, which took an April Fool's article in a Finnish newspaper about the Kola well for reality. The article said that each drilled kilometer on the way to the 13th brought continuous misfortunes to the country. According to legend, at a depth of 12,000 meters, workers began to imagine human cries for help, which were recorded on ultra-sensitive microphones.
With eachcataclysms occurred in the country with a new kilometer on the way to the 13th, so the USSR collapsed on the above path.
It was also noted that, having drilled a well up to 14,5 thousand meters, the workers stumbled upon empty "rooms", the temperature in which reached 1100 degrees Celsius. Having lowered one of the heat-resistant microphones into one of these holes, they recorded groans, gnashes and screams. These sounds were called the "voice of the underworld", and the well itself became known only as the "road to hell".
However, soon the very same research team disproved this legend. Scientists reported that the depth of the well at that time was only 12,263 meters, and the maximum recorded temperature is 220 degrees Celsius. Only one fact remains undeniable, thanks to which the Kola super-deep well has such dubious fame - sounds.
Interview with one of the workers of the Kola Superdeep Well
In one of the interviews dedicated to the refutation of the legend of the Kola well, David Mironovich Huberman said: “When they ask me about the veracity of this legend and about the existence of the demon we found there, I answer that this is complete nonsense. But to be honest, I can't deny the fact that we've encountered something supernatural. At first, sounds of unknown origin began to disturb us, then there was an explosion. When we looked into the well, at the same depth, a few days later, everything was absolutely normal…”
What benefits did the drilling of the Kolasuper deep well?
Of course, one of the main advantages of the appearance of this well can be called a significant progress in the field of drilling. New methods and types of drilling have been developed. Also, drilling and scientific equipment was created personally for the Kola superdeep 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 explore the deep layers of the earth has been achieved. Many existing theories were refuted (including those about the bas alt layer of the earth).
Number of ultra-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 on the territory of the former USSR
There were a huge number of ultra-deep wells on the territory of the Soviet Union, but the following should be especially noted:
- Muruntau well. In depth, the well reaches only 3 thousand meters. It is located in the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the small village of Muruntau. The drilling of the well began in 1984 and has not yet been completed.
- Krivoy Rog 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 to be Ukraine, the vicinity of the city of Krivoy Rog.
- Dneprovsko-Donetsk well. She is a fellow 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 this day.
- Ural well. It has a depth of 6100 meters. It is located in the Sverdlovsk region, near the town of Verkhnyaya Tura. The drilling of the well lasted for 20 years, from 1985 to 2005.
- Biikzhal well. Its depth reaches 6700 meters. The well was drilled from 1962 to 1971. It is located on the Caspian lowland.
- Aralsol 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 Biizhalskaya well.
- Timano-Pechora well. Its depth reaches 6904 meters. Located in the Komi Republic. To be more precise, in the Vuktyl region. The drilling of the well took about 10 years, from 1984 to 1993.
- Tyumen well. The depth reaches 7502 meters out of 8000 planned. The well is located near the city of Novy Urengoy and the village of Korotchaevo. Drilling took place from 1987 to 1996.
- Shevchenko's well. It was drilled during one year in 1982 with the aim of extracting oil in Western Ukraine. The depth of the well is 7520 meters. Located in the Carpathian region.
- En-Yakhinskaya well. It has a depth of about 8250 meters. The only well that exceeded the drilling plan(6000 were originally planned). It is located on the territory of Western Siberia, near the city of Novy Urengoy. Drilling lasted from 2000 to 2006. Was currently the last operating ultra-deep well in Russia.
- Saatly well. Its depth is 8324 meters. Drilling was carried out between 1977 and 1982. It is located in Azerbaijan, 10 kilometers from the city of Saatly, within the Kursk Bulge.
World's Superdeep Wells
On the territory of other countries there are also a number of super-deep wells that cannot be ignored:
- Sweden. Silyan Ring 6800 meters deep.
- Kazakhstan. Tasym South-East, 7050 meters deep.
- USA. The Bighorn is 7583 meters deep.
- Austria. Cisterdorf 8553 meters deep.
- USA. University with a depth of 8686 meters.
- Germany. KTB-Oberpfalz with a depth of 9101 meters.
- USA. Beidat Unit 9159 meters deep.
- USA. Bertha Rogers 9583 meters deep.
World records for ultra-deep wells in the world
In 2008, the world record of the Kola well was broken by the Maersk oil well. Its depth is 12,290 meters.
After that, several more world records for ultra-deep wells were recorded:
- In early January 2011, the record was broken by a well for oil production of the Sakhalin-1 project, the depth of which reaches 12,345 meters.
- BIn June 2013, the record was broken by the well of the Chayvinskoye field, the depth of which was 12,700 meters.
However, the mysteries and mysteries of the Kola super-deep well have not been revealed or explained to this day. Regarding the sounds present during its drilling, new theories have arisen to this day. Who knows, maybe this is really the fruit of a violent human fantasy? Well, then why so many eyewitnesses? Maybe soon 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 more centuries…
