SOVIETS TO REVEAL TECHNICAL DETAILS ON SUPERDEEP HOLE

The Soviet Union plans to reveal practically all details regarding technology employed and discoveries made in drilling the world's deepest hole on the Kola Peninsula near the Norwegian border west of Murmansk. But the U.S.S.R.'s Ministry of Geology, in announcing that previously secret data on the Kola SG-3 hole will be made available to foreign scientists, emphasized that the information will not be free. A Soviet spokesman told an international seminar in Moscow on superdeep drilling

Oct. 7, 1991

3 min read

But the U.S.S.R.'s Ministry of Geology, in announcing that previously secret data on the Kola SG-3 hole will be made available to foreign scientists, emphasized that the information will not be free.

A Soviet spokesman told an international seminar in Moscow on superdeep drilling it is fair that new users of the U.S.S.R.'s research material regarding SG-3 help pay for the hole's cost.

MORE "SURPRISES"

The Ministry of Geology said it is prepared to disclose "surprises" it has found in other superdeep drilling projects. Those reportedly include discovery of oil bearing strata at depths well below levels previously regarded as prospective for crude.

Specifically mentioned were superdeep holes in western Siberia's Tyumen Province and in the Timan-Pechora basin in far northeastern European Russia. No data were provided on the depth of the wells or oil zones.

A Ministry of Geology spokesman said the U.S.S.R. "is prepared to sell the secrets of its superdeep drilling technology in accordance with the practice of nations with market economies." He said the Kola hole is unique and can provide opportunities for scientific investigation on a commercial basis.

The ministry is considering setting up a geological/geophysical observatory at SG-3. Foreign interests would be able to buy shares in the joint stock venture.

PRESENT STATUS

The Soviets concede that while SG-3 has reached a record depth, it is still considerably short of its target of 15,000 m (49,212 ft). Present depth is 12,261 m (40,226 ft).

The hole reached 12,066 m (39,586 ft) in 1984, when drilling was suspended "to carry out extensive scientific studies, to change some of the equipment, and to prepare for the next stage of deeper drilling." Plans called for deepening the hole to 14,000 m (45,931 ft) by the end of 1990.

SG-3 was penetrating crystalline rock by 1984.

Casing of 245 mm diameter was set to a depth of 28,773 ft. The Soviets claimed a record for casing diameter at such a depth.

The Ministry of Geology admitted it will have "great difficulty" deepening SG-3 to 14,000 m. This has proved to be true even with further advances in Soviet deep drilling technology.

SG-3 was spudded in May 1970. A Uralmash BU-15000 rig has been employed on the hole.