A well in hell-kola super-deep well. The road, as befits a real adventure, abounded with various kinds of obstacles - fords, stones, even lakes.

In 2008, the deepest well in the world was finally abandoned, and all lifting mechanisms and structures were dismantled.

A couple of years later, the director of the Kola Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences issued a statement that the well was gradually self-destructing. Since that time, there is no official information about her anymore.

Well depth to date

As of today, the Kola well is one of the largest drilling projects in the world. Its official depth reaches 12,262 m.

Sounds of Hell from the Kola Well

Like any grandiose project created by human hands, the Kola well is shrouded in legends and myths.

The Kola well was drilled intermittently from 1970 to 1991

This can be seen both in the Mariana Trench, which we talked about at the beginning of the article, and in.

They say that at the moment when the workers of the deepest well crossed the line of 12,000 m, they began to hear terrible sounds.

Initially, they did not pay any attention, but over time the situation changed dramatically. With the onset of complete silence, sounds of a different nature were heard from the well.

As a result, the scientists decided to record everything that happened at the bottom of the well on film using heat-resistant microphones.

While listening to the recordings, it was possible to hear human cries and screams.

A couple of hours after studying the film, scientists found traces of a strong explosion, the cause of which they could not explain.

Drilling of the Kola super-deep well was suspended for some time.

When the work resumed, everyone still expected to hear people's wailing, but this time everything was quiet.

Suspecting something was wrong, the management began proceedings regarding the origin of strange sounds. However, the frightened workers did not want to comment on the current situation and in every possible way avoided any questions.

A few years later, when the project was officially put on hold, scientists suggested that the sounds were due to movement.

Some time later, this explanation was rejected as untenable. No other explanation was offered.

Secrets and mysteries of the Kola well

In 1989, the Kola well began to be called the "road to hell", because of the sounds coming from it. There is an opinion that with each next drilled kilometer, on the way to the 13th, one or another cataclysm happened. As a result, the Soviet Union collapsed.

However, the relationship between the drilling of the Kola superdeep well and the collapse of the superpower may be of interest only to those who believe that and others are supernatural "places of power."

There is an opinion that the workers managed to reach a depth of 14.5 km, and it was then that the equipment recorded some underground rooms. The temperature in these rooms exceeded 1000°C.

They also clearly audible and even recorded human cries. However, this whole story is not supported by facts.

Dimensions of the deepest well

The depth of the world's deepest well on the Kola Peninsula is officially registered at around 12,262 m.

The diameter of the upper part is 92 cm, the diameter of the lower part is 21.5 cm.

Wherein Maximum temperature did not exceed 220 °C. Inexplicable in this whole story are only sounds of unknown origin.

Benefits of drilling the Kola well

• Thanks to this project, new drilling methods were achieved, as well as improved equipment.
• Geologists have been able to discover new locations of valuable minerals.
• It was possible to debunk many different theories, for example, conjectures regarding the basalt layer of our planet.

Worldwide ultra-deep wells

As of today, there are approximately 25 ultra-deep wells, most of which are located in the republics former USSR.

Others also have a number of ultra-deep wells. We present the most famous among them.

• Sweden. Silyan Ring - 6800 m.
• Kazakhstan. Tasym South-East - 7050 m.
• USA. Bighorn - 7583 m.
• Austria. Zisterdorf - 8553 m.
• USA. University - 8686 m.
• Germany. KTB-Oberpfalz - 9101 m.
• USA. Beidat Unit - 9159 m.
• USA. Bertha Rogers - 9583 m.

World records for ultra-deep wells in the world

1. In 2008, the Maersk oil well (Qatar) with a depth of 12,290 m became the new depth record holder.
2. In 2011, during a project called "Sakhalin-1" (), it was possible to drill a well up to a mark of 12,345 m.
3. In 2013, the well of the Chayvinskoye field (Russia) set a new record of 12,700 m. However, it was not drilled vertically down, but at an angle to the surface.

Photo of the Kola well

looking at the photo Kola well it is hard to imagine that once life was in full swing here, and many people worked for the good of a great country.

Now there is nothing here but garbage and remnants of its former greatness. Reinforced concrete walls and empty, abandoned rooms with randomly scattered things act depressingly. Silence reigns all around.

Drilling rig of the first stage (depth 7600 m), 1974
Electrical substation building
Photo 2012
The wellhead with a metal plug. Someone scratched the wrong depth. August 2012

It is hard to imagine that under this plug there is the deepest “hole” in the earth, extending more than 12 km deep.
Soviet workers on shift change, late 1970s

The stories associated with the Kola well have not subsided so far. At present, scientists have not given a final answer about the origin of mystical sounds.

In this regard, there are more and more new theories trying to explain this phenomenon. Perhaps in the near future, scientists will be able to find out the nature of the "hellish sounds".

Now you know why the Kola well is interesting. If you liked this article, please share it with your friends. If you like it at all - subscribe to the site IinterestingFakty.org in any convenient way. It's always interesting with us!

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Vladimir Khomutko

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Where is the deepest oil well?

Man has long dreamed of not only flying into space, but also penetrating deep into his native planet. For a long time, this dream remained unrealizable, since the existing technologies did not allow any significant deepening into the earth's crust.

In the thirteenth century, the Chinese, the depth of the wells dug by the Chinese, reached a fantastic 1,200 meters for that time, and starting from the thirties of the last century, with the advent of drilling rigs, people in Europe began to drill three-kilometer pits. However, all this, so to speak, was only shallow scratches on the earth's surface.

The idea to drill the upper earth shell into a global project took shape in the 60s of the twentieth century. Prior to this, all assumptions about the structure of the earth's mantle were based on seismic activity data and other indirect factors. However the only way to look into the bowels of the Earth in the literal sense of the word, it remained to drill wells of great depth.

Hundreds of wells drilled for this purpose, both on land and in the ocean, have provided numerous data that help answer a lot of questions about the structure of our planet. However, now ultra-deep workings are pursuing not only scientific, but also purely practical goals. Next, we look at the deepest wells ever drilled in the world.

This well, 8,553 meters deep, was drilled in 1977 in the area where the Vienna oil and gas province is located. Small oil deposits were discovered in it, and the idea arose to look deeper. At a depth of 7,544 meters, experts found unrecoverable gas reserves, after which the well suddenly collapsed. OMV decided to drill a second one, but despite its great depth, the miners failed to find any minerals.

Austrian well Zistersdorf

Federal Republic of Germany – Hauptbohrung

The German specialists were inspired to organize this deep mining by the famous Kola super-deep well. At that time, many states of Europe and the world began to develop their deep drilling projects. Among them, the Hauptborung project stood apart, which was implemented for four years - from 1990 to 1994 in Germany. Despite its relatively shallow (compared to the wells described below) depth of 9,101 meters, this project has become widely known worldwide due to the open access to the received geological and drilling data.

United States of America - Baden Unit

A well with a depth of 9,159 meters was drilled American company Lone Star in the vicinity of the town of Anadarko (USA). Development began in 1970 and continued for 545 days. The cost of its construction was six million dollars, and in terms of materials, 150 diamond chisels and 1,700 tons of cement were used for it.

United States – Bertha Rogers

This production was also created in the state of Oklahoma in the area of ​​the oil and gas province of Anadarko in Oklahoma. Work began in 1974 and lasted 502 days. The drilling was also carried out by the company, as in the previous example. Having passed 9,583 meters, the miners ran into a deposit of molten sulfur, and were forced to stop work.

This well was named by the Guinness Book of Records as "the deepest intrusion into the Earth's crust by man." In May 1970, in the vicinity of the lake with the furious name Vilgiskoddeoaivinjärvi, the construction of this grandiose mine working began. Initially, they wanted to walk 15 kilometers, but due to too high temperatures they stopped at 12,262 meters. At present, the Kola Superdeep is mothballed.

Qatar - BD-04A

Drilled in an oil field called Al-Shaheen for the purpose of geological exploration.

The total depth was 12,289 meters, and the mark of 12 kilometers was covered in just 36 days! It was seven years ago.

Russian Federation - OP-11

Starting from 2003, a whole series of ultra-deep drilling works began as part of the Sakhalin-1 project.

In 2011, Exxon Neftegas drilled the deepest oil well in the world - 12,245 meters - in just 60 days.

It was at a field called Odoptu.

However, the records did not end there.

O-14 is a production well in the world that has no analogues in terms of the total length of the wellbore - 13,500 meters, as well as the longest horizontal well - 12,033 meters.

It was developed by the Russian company NK Rosneft, which is a member of the consortium of the Sakhalin-1 project. This well was developed in a field called Chayvo. For its drilling, the ultra-modern drilling platform "Orlan" was used.

We also note the depth along the wellbore constructed in 2013 as part of the same project, the well under the number Z-43, the value of which reached 12,450 meters. In the same year, this record was broken at the Chayvinskoye field - the length of the Z-42 trunk reached 12,700 meters, and the length of the horizontal section - 11,739 meters.

In 2014, the drilling of the Z-40 development (the offshore Chayvo field) was completed, which, before O-14, was the longest wellbore in the world - 13,000 meters, and also had the longest horizontal section - 12,130 m.

In other words, to date, 8 of the 10 longest wells in the world are located in the fields of the Sakhalin-1 project.

Kola Superdeep Well

The Chayvo field is one of three being developed by the consortium in Sakhalin. It is located northeast of the coast of Sakhalin Island. The depth of the seabed in this area varies from 14 to 30 m. The field was put into operation in 2005.

In general, the Sakhalin-1 international offshore project unites the interests of several large world corporations. It includes three fields located on the sea shelf of Odoptu, Chaivo and Arkutun-Dagi. According to experts, the total available hydrocarbon reserves here are about 236 million tons of oil and almost 487 billion cubic meters natural gas. The Chaivo field was put into operation (as we said above) in 2005, the Odoptu field - in 2010, and at the very beginning of 2015, the development of the Arkutun-Dagi field was started.

During the entire existence of the project, it was possible to extract about 70 million tons of oil and 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Currently, the project has encountered some difficulties related to fluctuations in oil prices, but the members of the consortium have confirmed their interest in further work.

The Kola super-deep well is the deepest borehole in the world (from 1979 to 2008). It is located in the Murmansk region, 10 kilometers west of the city of Zapolyarny, on the territory of the geological Baltic Shield. Its depth is 12,262 meters. Unlike other ultra-deep wells that were made for oil production or exploration, SG-3 was drilled exclusively for the study of the lithosphere in the place where the Mohorovichic boundary is. (abbreviated Moho boundary) - the lower boundary of the earth's crust, on which there is an abrupt increase in the velocities of longitudinal seismic waves.

The Kola superdeep well was laid in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lenin, in 1970. The strata of sedimentary rocks by that time were well studied during oil production. It was more interesting to drill where volcanic rocks about 3 billion years old (for comparison: the age of the Earth is estimated at 4.5 billion years) come to the surface. For mining, such rocks are rarely drilled deeper than 1–2 km. It was assumed that already at a depth of 5 km, the granite layer would be replaced by basalt. On June 6, 1979, the well broke the record of 9583 meters, previously owned by the Bert-Rogers well (oil well in Oklahoma). AT best years 16 research laboratories worked at the Kola superdeep well, they were personally supervised by the Minister of Geology of the USSR.

Although it was expected that a pronounced boundary between granites and basalts would be found, only granites were found in the core throughout the depth. However, due to the high pressure, the pressed granites greatly changed their physical and acoustic properties. As a rule, the raised core fell apart from active gas release into sludge, as it could not withstand a sharp change in pressure. It was possible to extract a solid piece of core only with a very slow rise of the drill string, when the “excess” gas, while still in a state of high pressure, had time to leave the rock. The density of cracks at great depths, contrary to expectations, increased. At depth, water was also present, filling the cracks.

Interestingly, when the International Geological Congress was held in Moscow in 1984, at which the first results of the well research were presented, many scientists jokingly suggested that it be immediately buried, since it destroys all ideas about the structure of the earth's crust. Indeed, oddities began even at the first stages of penetration. So, for example, theorists even before the start of drilling promised that the temperature of the Baltic Shield would remain relatively low to a depth of at least 5 kilometers, the ambient temperature exceeded 70 degrees Celsius, at seven - over 120 degrees, and at a depth of 12 it was frying stronger than 220 degrees - 100 degrees higher than predicted. The Kola drillers questioned the theory of the layered structure of the earth's crust - at least in the range up to 12,262 meters.

“We have the deepest hole in the world - this is how you should use it!” - bitterly exclaims the permanent director of the research and production center "Kola Superdeep" David Huberman. In the first 30 years of the existence of the Kola Superdeep, Soviet and then Russian scientists broke through to a depth of 12,262 meters. But since 1995, drilling has been stopped: there was no one to finance the project. What stands out within scientific programs UNESCO, is only enough to maintain the drilling station in working condition and study previously extracted rock samples.

Huberman recalls with regret how many scientific discoveries took place at the Kola Superdeep. Literally every meter was a revelation. The well showed that almost all of our previous knowledge about the structure of the earth's crust is incorrect. It turned out that the Earth is not at all like a layer cake.

Another surprise: life on planet Earth arose, it turns out, 1.5 billion years earlier than expected. At depths where it was believed that there was no organic matter, 14 types of fossilized microorganisms were found - the age of the deep layers exceeded 2.8 billion years. At even greater depths, where there are no longer sedimentary rocks, methane appeared in huge concentrations. This completely and completely destroyed the theory of the biological origin of hydrocarbons such as oil and gas. There were also almost fantastic sensations. When, in the late 70s, the Soviet automatic space station brought 124 grams of lunar soil to Earth, the researchers of the Kola Science Center found that it was like two drops of water similar to samples from a depth of 3 kilometers. And a hypothesis arose: the moon broke away from the Kola Peninsula. Now they are looking for exactly where. By the way, the Americans, who brought half a ton of soil from the moon, did nothing sensible with it. Placed in sealed containers and left for research to future generations.

Quite unexpectedly for everyone, the predictions of Alexei Tolstoy from the novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" were confirmed. At a depth of more than 9.5 kilometers, they discovered a real storehouse of all kinds of minerals, in particular gold. A real olivine layer, brilliantly predicted by the writer. Gold in it is 78 grams per ton. By the way, industrial production is possible at a concentration of 34 grams per ton. But, most surprisingly, at even greater depths, where there are no sedimentary rocks, natural gas methane was found in huge concentrations. This completely and completely destroyed the theory of the biological origin of hydrocarbons such as oil and gas.

Not only scientific sensations were also associated with the Kola well, but also mysterious legends, most of which turned out to be fiction of journalists during verification. According to one of them, the original source of information (1989) was the American television company Trinity Broadcasting Network, which, in turn, took the story from a Finnish newspaper report. Allegedly, while drilling a well, at a depth of 12 thousand meters, the microphones of scientists recorded screams and groans.). Journalists, without even thinking that it was simply impossible to stick a microphone to such a depth (what sound recording device can work at temperatures above two hundred degrees?) wrote about the fact that the drillers heard a "voice from the underworld."

After these publications, the Kola super-deep well began to be called the "road to hell", arguing that each new kilometer drilled brought misfortune to the country. They said that when the drillers were drilling the thirteenth thousand meters, the USSR collapsed. Well, when the well was drilled to a depth of 14.5 km (which actually did not happen), they suddenly stumbled upon unusual voids. Intrigued by this unexpected discovery, the drillers lowered a microphone capable of operating at extremely high temperatures and other sensors into it. The temperature inside allegedly reached 1,100 ° C - there was the heat of the fiery chambers, in which, allegedly, human screams could be heard.

This legend still roams the vast expanses of the Internet, having survived the very culprit of these gossip - the Kola well. Work on it was stopped back in 1992 due to lack of funding. Until 2008, it was in a mothballed state. And a year later, the final decision was made to abandon the continuation of research and dismantle the entire research complex, and "bury" the well. The final abandonment of the well took place in the summer of 2011.
So, as you can see, this time the scientists were not able to get to the mantle and explore it. However, this does not mean that the Kola well did not give anything to science - on the contrary, it turned all their ideas about the structure of the earth's crust upside down.

RESULTS

The tasks set in the ultra-deep drilling project have been fulfilled. Special equipment and technology for ultra-deep drilling, as well as for the study of wells drilled to a great depth, have been developed and created. We received information, one might say, "first-hand" about the physical state, properties and composition of rocks in their natural occurrence and from core samples to a depth of 12,262 m. 8 kilometers. Industrial copper-nickel ores were discovered there - a new ore horizon was discovered. And very handy, because the local nickel plant is already running out of ore.

As noted above, the geological forecast of the well section did not come true. The picture that was expected during the first 5 km in the well stretched for 7 km, and then completely unexpected rocks appeared. The basalts predicted at a depth of 7 km were not found, even when they dropped to 12 km. It was expected that the boundary that gives the most reflection in seismic sounding is the level where the granites pass into a more durable basalt layer. In reality, it turned out that less durable and less dense fractured rocks - Archean gneisses - are located there. This was not expected at all. And this is a fundamentally new geological and geophysical information that allows you to interpret the data of deep geophysical surveys in a different way.

The data on the process of ore formation in the deep layers of the earth's crust also turned out to be unexpected and fundamentally new. So, at depths of 9-12 km, highly porous fractured rocks saturated with underground highly mineralized waters were encountered. These waters are one of the sources of ore formation. Previously, it was believed that this was possible only at much shallower depths. It was in this interval that an increased gold content was found in the core - up to 1 g per 1 ton of rock (a concentration that is considered suitable for industrial development). But will it ever be profitable to mine gold from such a depth?

The ideas about the thermal regime of the earth's interior, about the deep distribution of temperatures in the areas of basalt shields, have also changed. At a depth of more than 6 km, a temperature gradient of 20°C per 1 km was obtained instead of the expected (as in the upper part) 16°C per 1 km. It was revealed that half of the heat flux is of radiogenic origin.

The bowels of the earth contain as many mysteries as the vast expanses of the universe. This is exactly what some scientists think, and they are partly right, because people still do not know exactly what exactly is under our feet deep underground. For the entire time of the existence of earthly civilization, we have been able to go deep into the planet a little more than 10 kilometers. This record was set back in 1990 and lasted until 2008, after which it was updated several times. In 2008, a deviated oil well, Maersk Oil BD-04A, with a length of 12,290 meters, was drilled (Al-Shaheen oil basin in Qatar). In January 2011, an inclined oil well was drilled at the Odoptu-more field (Sakhalin-1 project) with a depth of 12,345 meters. The record for drilling depth currently belongs to the Z-42 well of the Chayvinskoye field, the depth of which is 12,700 meters.

Despite the fact that the 21st century is in the yard, very little has been studied about the internal structure of our planet. We know quite well about what is happening in deep space, at the same time, the degree of penetration into the secrets of the Earth can be compared with a light pin prick in the surface of a watermelon peel.
In the mid-1950s, when drillers learned how to make wells more than 7 km deep, humanity approached the implementation of a very ambitious task - to penetrate the earth's crust and see what is hidden under it. Our compatriots, who drilled the Kola super-deep well, came closest to this goal.
The solid shell of the Earth is surprisingly thin in relation to its size - the thickness of the crust varies between 20-65 km on land and 3-8 km under the ocean, occupying less than 1% of the planet's volume. Behind it is a vast layer - the mantle - which accounts for the bulk of the Earth. Even lower is a dense core, consisting mainly of iron, as well as nickel, lead, uranium and other metals. Between the crust and the mantle, a boundary zone stands out, named after the Yugoslav scientist who discovered it, the surface (border) of Mohorovich, or in short - Moho. In this zone, the propagation velocity of seismic waves increases sharply. There are a number of hypotheses designed to explain this phenomenon, but in general it remains unsolved.

The most important target of the most serious deep drilling projects launched in the second half of the 20th century was precisely this mysterious layer. The researchers failed to reach it, however, the data on the structure of the earth's crust, obtained during the drilling of ultra-deep wells, turned out to be so unexpected that the Mokhorovich boundary, as it were, faded into the background. First, it was necessary to explain the riddles found in the higher layers.
The Americans were the first to start deep drilling of the earth's crust for scientific purposes. In the 1960s, they launched the Mohole scientific project, which involved the creation of underwater drilling ships using special drilling ships. Over the next thirty years, more than 800 wells appeared in the seas and oceans, many of which are located at depths of more than 4 km. The longest borehole was able to penetrate only 800 m into the seabed, and yet the data obtained were of tremendous significance for geology. In particular, they served as a weighty confirmation of the so-called. tectonic theory, according to which the continents are based on solid lithospheric plates, slowly floating, immersed in a liquid mantle.

Of course, the USSR could not lag behind its overseas competitor, so in the mid-1960s we launched numerous projects to study the earth's crust. Soviet scientists took a slightly different path, deciding to drill wells not in the sea, but on land. The most famous and successful project of this kind is the Kola Superdeep Well, the deepest “hole in the ground” ever made by man. The well is located at the northern tip of the Kola Peninsula. This place was not chosen by chance - for hundreds of millions of years, natural erosion destroyed the surface of the Kola crystalline shield, ripping off the upper layers of rock from it. As a result, ancient Archean layers appeared on the surface, corresponding to depths of 5-10 km for the average section of the earth's crust of the continental type. The 15-kilometer design depth of the well allowed scientists to hope to reach the mysterious surface of Mohorovich.
Drilling of the Kola well began in 1970, and it ended more than 20 years later - in 1994. At first, the drillers worked quite well traditional methods: a string of light-alloy pipes was lowered into the well, at the end of which a cylindrical metal drill with diamond teeth and sensors was fixed. The column was rotated by an engine located on the surface. As the depth of the well increased, new sections were added to the pipes. Periodically, the entire column had to be lifted to the surface in order to extract the cut core of the rock and replace the blunt bit. Unfortunately, this proven technology becomes ineffective when the depth of the well exceeds a certain point: the friction of the pipes against the walls of the well becomes too great to turn this whole huge shaft. To overcome this difficulty, the engineers developed a scheme in which only the head of the drilling rig rotated. At the end of the column, turbines were strengthened through which drilling fluid was passed - a special liquid that acts as a lubricant and circulates through the pipes. These turbines made the drill rotate.

The samples brought to the surface during the drilling process have revolutionized geology. The existing ideas about the structure of the earth's crust turned out to be far from reality. The first surprise was the lack of transition from granite to basalt, which scientists expected to see at a depth of about 6 km. Seismological studies indicate that in this area the speed of propagation of acoustic waves changes dramatically, which was interpreted as the beginning of the basalt basement of the earth's crust. However, even after the transition zone, granites and gneisses continued to rise to the surface. From that moment it became clear that the prevailing model of a two-layered earth's crust was wrong. Now the presence of a seismic transition is explained by a change in the properties of the rock under conditions of increased pressure and temperature.
An even more surprising discovery was the fact that rocks located at depths of more than 9 km turned out to be extremely porous. Prior to this, it was believed that as the depth and pressure increase, they, on the contrary, should become more and more dense. Miniature cracks were filled with an aqueous solution, whose origin remained absolutely unclear for a long time. Later, a theory was put forward, according to which the discovered water is formed from hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which are “squeezed out” from the surrounding rock under the influence of colossal pressures.
Another surprise: life on planet Earth arose, it turns out, 1.5 billion years earlier than expected. At a depth of 6.7 km, where it was believed that there was no organic matter, 14 types of fossilized microorganisms were found. They were found in highly uncharacteristic carbon-nitrogen deposits (instead of the usual limestone or silica) that are over 2.8 billion years old. At even greater depths, where there are no longer sedimentary rocks, methane appeared in huge concentrations. This completely and utterly destroyed the theory of the biological origin of hydrocarbons such as oil and gas.
Scientists were also extremely surprised by the speed with which the temperature increased as the well deepened. At a mark of 7 km it reached 120 °C, and at a depth of 12 km - already 230 °C, which was a third higher than the planned value: the temperature gradient of the crust was almost 20 degrees per 1 km, instead of the expected 16. It was also found that half of the heat flux is of radiogenic origin. The high temperature had a negative effect on the work of the bit, so the drilling fluid was cooled before being pumped into the well. This measure turned out to be quite effective, however, after passing the mark of 12 km, it was no longer able to provide sufficient heat removal. In addition, the compressed and heated rock acquired some properties of a liquid, as a result of which the well began to swim during the next extraction of the drill string. Further progress turned out to be impossible without new technological solutions and significant financial costs, so in 1994 drilling was suspended. By that time, the well had deepened to 12,262 m.

It 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 available wells on the planet, this one was drilled exclusively from a research point of view and was not used for the purpose of extracting useful resources.

Location of the Kola ultradeep station

Where is the Kola Superdeep Well located? O on 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 in the area of ​​the Kola Peninsula. It is where the earth daily pushes various ancient rocks to the surface.

Near the well is the Pechenga-Imandra-Varzuga rift trough, which was formed as a result of a fault.

Kola superdeep well: history of appearance

In honor of the centennial anniversary on the occasion of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in the first half of 1970, the drilling of a well was started.

On May 24, 1970, after the location of the well was approved by the geological expedition, work began. Up to a depth of about 7,000 meters, everything went easily and smoothly. After crossing the seven thousand milestone, the work became more difficult and constant collapses began to occur.

As a result of constant interruptions lifting mechanisms and broken drill heads, as well as regular collapses of the well wall were subject 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, 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 Soviet Union Kozlovsky Evgeny Alexandrovich.

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.

The 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. Work resumed 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.

The current state of the Kola well

In early 2008, the ultra-deep well on the Kola Peninsula was considered abandoned, the equipment was being dismantled, and a demolition project for existing buildings and laboratories had already begun.

In early 2010, the director of the Kola Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that the well had now undergone a conservation process and was being destroyed on its own. Since then, the issue has not been raised.

Well depth to date

Currently, 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 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 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 the ultra-deep well were considered rather unusual, it was decided to record them using heat-resistant microphones. When the recordings were listened to, everyone was amazed - they looked like the screams and squeals of people.

A few hours after listening to the recordings, the workers found traces of a powerful explosion of a 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 cries, but there was truly deathly silence.

When the investigation into 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 brushed off the phrase: “I heard something strange ...” Only later a large number of time and at the end of the project, a version was put forward that the sounds of unknown origin are the sound of the movement of tectonic plates. This version was refuted over time.

The secrets that shrouded 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 the legend, at a depth of 12,000 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, cataclysms occurred in the country, 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 hollow "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 began to be referred to only as "the road to hell."

However, the research team itself soon disproved 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 unrefuted, 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 was the benefit of drilling the Kola super-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 opening 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 was achieved. Many existing theories were refuted (including those about the basalt 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.

Superdeep wells located on the territory of the former USSR

A huge number of super-deep wells were present on the territory of the Soviet Union, but the following should be especially highlighted:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Dnieper-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.
4. Ural well. It has a depth of 6100 meters. It is located in the Sverdlovsk region, near the town of Verkhnyaya Tura. Work on the software lasted for 20 years, starting in 1985 and ending in 2005.
5. Biikzhal well. Its depth reaches 6700 meters. The well was drilled from 1962 to 1971. It is located on the Caspian lowland.
6. Aralsol well. Its depth is one hundred meters more than Biikzhalskaya and is only 6800 meters. The drilling year and location of the well are completely identical to the Biizhalskaya well.
7. Timan-Pechora well. Its depth reaches 6904 meters. Located in the Komi Republic. To be more precise, in the Vuktyl region. Work on the software lasted about 10 years, from 1984 to 1993.
8. Tyumen well. The depth reaches 7502 meters out of 8000 planned. The well is located near the town and village of Korotchaevo. Drilling took place from 1987 to 1996.
9. Shevchenko 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.
10. En-Yakhinskaya well. It has a depth of about 8250 meters. The only well that exceeded the drilling plan (6000 was originally planned). It is located on the territory of Western Siberia, near the city of Novy Urengoy. Drilling lasted from 2000 to 2006. It was currently the last operating ultra-deep well in Russia.
11. Saatlinskaya 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.

Worldwide ultra-deep wells

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

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

World records for ultra-deep wells in the world

In 2008, the world record of the Kola well was broken oil well Maersk. Its depth is 12,290 meters.

After that, several more world records for ultra-deep wells were recorded:

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

However, the riddles 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, and perhaps the well will remain a legend that will be retold for many more centuries...