Well depth record set at Tonga prospect

Petroleum News

ChevronTexaco and oilfield service company Schlumberger said they have established a new well depth record in the Gulf of Mexico at the Tonga prospect on Green Canyon Block 727.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 31,824 feet, which included 4,695 feet of water, a spokeswoman for Schlumberger said. The Tonga No. 1 exploration well, drilled from Transocean’s Discoverer Deep Seas drillship, exceeded the previous record by 700 feet, with a maximum recorded downhole pressure of 26,138 psi.

“Schlumberger delivered continuous real-time surveys, allowing the well trajectory to be kept on target during the entire drilling and logging process,” the company said, adding that its tools “functioned flawlessly” under extreme conditions of depth and pressure.