Super-deep well on the Kola Peninsula: history and secrets

Well located on the territory of Kolapeninsula, occupies the first position in the list of "Super deep wells in the world." It was drilled to study the structure of deep earth rocks. Unlike other existing wells on the planet, this one was drilled exclusively from the scientific point of view and was not used to extract useful resources.

Location of the Kola Superdeep Station

Where is the Kola Superdeep Well? ABOUTis located in the Murmansk region, nearthe city 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, near the Kola Peninsula. It is there where the earth pushes various ancient rocks daily.

Near the well is the Pechenga-Imandra-Varzug Rifting Deflection, formed as a result of the fault.

Kola superdeep well: the history of appearance

In honor of the centennial anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin in the first half of 1970 was the beginning of drilling a well.

May 24, 1970, after the approval of the geologicalexpedition to 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 line, the work went harder and constant collapses began to occur.

As a result of permanent breakage of elevatingmechanisms and fractures of drill heads, as well as regular collapses of the borehole wall were subject to the cementing process. However, due to permanent malfunctions, the work continued for several years and was extremely slow.

On June 6, 1979, the depth of the well crossed the boundary in9583 meters, thereby breaking the world record of oil production well in the United States of America 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 supervised by the Minister of Geology of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Kozlovsky.

In 1983, when the depth of the Kola superdeepwells reached 12,066 meters, the work was temporarily frozen in connection with the preparation for the International Geological Congress in 1984. Upon its completion, the works were resumed.

The resumption of work fell on September 27, 1984of the year. But at the first descent the drilling column was cut off, and once again there was a collapse of the well. The work resumed from a depth of about 7 thousand meters.

In 1990, the depth of the drill hole 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

In early 2008, the super deep well on the Kola Peninsula was considered abandoned, the equipment was dismantled, and a project was already launched to demolish existing buildings and laboratories.

In the beginning of 2010 the director of KolaGeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported that at present the well has undergone a conservation process and is being destroyed independently. Since then, the question of it has not been raised.

The depth of the well for today

At the present time the Kola superdeepWell, the photo of which is presented to the attention of the reader in the article, is considered one of the most large-scale drilling projects on the planet. Its official depth is 12,263 meters.

Sounds in the Kola well

When the drilling rigs crossed the line at 12thousands of meters, the workers began to hear strange sounds emanating from the depths. At first they did not attach any importance to this. However, when all the drilling equipment froze and there was a deathly silence in the borehole, unusual sounds were heard, which the workers themselves called "the cries of sinners in hell." Since the sounds of the superdeep well were considered rather unusual, it was decided to record them using heat-resistant microphones. When the records were heard, everyone was amazed - they were like screams and screaming people.

A few hours after listeningrecords workers found traces of a powerful explosion of previously unknown origin. The work was temporarily stopped until the circumstances became clear. However, they were resumed in a few days. Once again, having descended into the hole, everyone waited with a sinking heart to hear people's screams, but there was truly grave silence.

When the proceedings on the origin begansounds, questions were asked about who and what he heard. The stricken and frightened workers tried to avoid answering these questions and only dismissed the phrase: "I heard something strange ..." Only after a large amount of time and when the project was closed, a version was put forward that sounds of unknown origin are the sound of movement of tectonic plates. This version was eventually refuted.

Secrets with which the well is shrouded

In 1989, the Kola Superdeep Well,sounds from which excite the imagination of man, was called "road to hell." The legend originated on the air of an American television company, which took the April Fool's article in the Finnish newspaper about the Kola well for reality. The article said that every kilometer on the way to the 13th brought disaster to the country. According to legend, at the depth of 12 thousand meters, people began to see the workers' cries for help, which were recorded on ultra-sensitive microphones.

With each new kilometer on the way to the 13th in the country there were cataclysms, so, on the above-mentioned path the USSR collapsed.

Also noted that, having drilled a well up to 14.5thousands of meters, workers stumbled upon empty "rooms", the temperature in which reached 1100 degrees Celsius. Having lowered one of the thermo-resistant microphones into one of these holes, they recorded groans, rattles and screams. These sounds were called "the voice of the underworld", and the well itself was called "road to hell".

However, soon the same research grouprefuted this legend. Scientists said 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 remained unconfirmed, thanks to which the Kola superdeep borehole has such dubious glory, - sounds.

Interview with one of the workers of the Kola superdense well

In one of the interviews devoted to the refutationthe legend about the Kola borehole, David Mikhnovich Guberman said: "When I am asked about the truthfulness of this legend and about the existence of the demon we found there, I reply that this is utter nonsense. But to be honest, I can not refute the fact that we are faced with something supernatural. First, we started to worry about the origin of sounds, then there was an explosion. When we looked into the well, to the same depth, in a few days, everything was absolutely normal ... "

What benefits did the drilling of the Kola superdeep well bring?

Of course, one of the main advantages of thiswells can be called significant progress in the field of drilling. New methods and types of drilling have been developed. Personally, drilling and scientific equipment has been created personally for the Kola Ultradeep Well, which is still used today.

Another advantage was the discovery of a new location of valuable natural resources, including gold.

The main scientific objective of the project to explore the deeper layers of the earth has been achieved. Many existing theories have been refuted (including the basaltic layer of the earth).

The number of superdeep wells in the world

In total on the planet there are about 25 ultra-deep wells.

Most of them are located in the former USSR, but about 8 are located around the world.

Ultradeep wells located in the territory of the former USSR

A huge number of ultradeep wells were present on the territory of the Soviet Union, but the following should be especially noted:

1. Muruntau well. In depth the well reaches only 3 thousand meters. Located in the Republic of Uzbekistan, in a small village Muruntau. Drilling began in 1984 and has not yet been completed.
2. Krivoy Rog well. In depth reaches only 5383 meters of the 12 thousand conceived. Drilling began in 1984 and ended in 1993. The location of the well is Ukraine, near the city of Krivoy Rog.
3. Dnieper-Donetsk well. It is the previous countrywoman 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.
4. Ural well. It has a depth of 6100 meters. Located in the Sverdlovsk region, near the town of Verkhnyaya Tura. The drilling of the well lasted for 20 years, beginning in 1985 and ending in 2005.
5. Biikzhalsky well. Its depth reaches 6,700 meters. The well was drilled from 1962 to 1971. It is located on the Caspian lowland.
6. Aralso 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 Biizhalsky well.
7. Timan-Pechora well. Its depth reaches 6904 meters. Located in the Komi Republic. To be more precise, in the Vuktyl region. The drilling work on the well lasted about 10 years, beginning in 1984 and ending with 1993.
8. Tyumen well. Depth reaches 7502 meters from 8000 planned. The well is located near the town of Novy Urengoy and the village of Korotchaevo. Drilling took place from 1987 to 1996.
9. Shevchenko well. It was drilled during 1982 alone with the goal of producing oil in Western Ukraine. The depth of the well is 7520 meters. Located in the Carpathian region.
10. En-Yakhinskaya well. It has a depth of about 8250 meters. The only well that exceeded the drilling plan (originally planned 6000). It is located in the territory of Western Siberia, near the town of Novy Urengoy. Drilling lasted from 2000 to 2006. Currently, it was the last operating super-deep well in Russia.
11. Saatli well. Its depth is 8324 meters. Drilling was carried out in the period from 1977 to 1982. It is located in Azerbaijan, 10 kilometers from the city of Saatly, within the Kursk Bulge.

World ultradeep wells

On the territory of other countries, there are also a number of ultra-deep wells that cannot be ignored:

1. Sweden. Siljan Ring with a depth of 6800 meters.
2. Kazakhstan. Tasym Southeast depth of 7050 meters.
3. USA. Bighorn depth of 7583 meters.
4. Austria. Cisterdorf is 8553 meters deep.
5. USA. University depth 8686 meters.
6. Germany. KTB-Oberpfalz 9101 meters deep.
7. USA. Beydat-Unit with a depth of 9159 meters.
8. USA. Bertha Rogers is 9583 meters deep.

World records for ultradeep wells in the world

In 2008, the Kola well’s world record was broken by an oil well, Maersk. Its depth is 12,290 meters.

After that, several more world records of ultradeep wells were recorded:

1. In early January 2011, the record was beaten by a well in the Sakhalin-1 oil production, the depth of which reaches 12,345 meters.
2. In June 2013, the record was broken by the well of the Chayvo field, whose depth was 12,700 meters.

However, the mysteries and secrets of the Kola superdeepwells until today are not disclosed and not explained. Regarding the sounds present during its drilling, to this day, new theories arise. Who knows, maybe this is really the fruit of violent human fantasy? Well, why then so many witnesses? Maybe soon there will be a person who will give a scientific explanation of what is happening, and perhaps the well will remain a legend, which will be retold for many centuries ...