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52-491: While the planned depth of the hole is significantly less than the Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole (which reached 12 km or 7.5 miles depth on land), the scientific results are expected to be much more interesting since the regions targeted by Chikyū include some of the most seismically active regions of the world. Other deep holes have been drilled by the drill ship JOIDES Resolution during

104-466: A GPS system and six adjustable computer controlled azimuth thrusters (3.8 m or 12 feet in diameter) that enable precise positioning to maintain a stable platform during deep water drilling. The maximum drilling water depth for riser drilling is 2,500 m (8,200 feet) and can support a drill string up to 10,000 m (33,000 feet) long. The helipad can serve very large helicopters transporting as many as 30 persons per landing. The D/V Chikyū

156-475: A 5-metre (16 ft) section of the drill string twisted off and was left in the hole. Drilling was restarted in September 1986, 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) from the first hole. The third hole reached 12,262 metres (40,230 ft) in 1989. In that year, the hole depth was expected to reach 13,500 metres (44,300 ft) by the end of 1990 and 15,000 metres (49,000 ft) by 1993. In June 1990,

208-539: A breakdown occurred in the third hole at 12,262 metres (40,230 ft) of depth. The drilling of the fourth hole was started in January ;1991 from 9,653 metres (31,670 ft) of depth of third hole. The drilling of the fourth hole was stopped in April ;1992 at 11,882 metres (38,983 ft) of depth. Drilling of the fifth hole started in April 1994 from 8,278 metres (27,159 ft) of depth of

260-557: A central shaft and two off of one of those branches. In addition to being the deepest human-made hole on Earth, Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3 was, for almost three decades, the world's longest borehole in measured depth along its bore, until surpassed in 2008 by a hydrocarbon extraction borehole in Qatar . Drilling at Kola SG-3 began on 24 May 1970 using the Uralmash -4E, a serial drilling rig used for drilling oil wells . The rig

312-772: A consortium consisting of several European countries and Canada, China , South Korea , Australia and New Zealand (ANZIC), and India . D/V Chikyū was built by the Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding and launched on 18 January 2002 in Nagasaki, Nagasaki . The ship was outfitted by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and delivered to JAMSTEC on 29 July 2005. The hull of the ship is 210 m (690 feet) long, 38 m (125 feet) in width, 16.2 m (53 feet) high, and has an approximate gross tonnage of about 57,000 tonnes (63,000 tons). The ship has

364-538: A crucial part in cement slurry mix and support decisions. These decisions became a focus for investigations of the explosion on the rig that month. Deepwater Horizon was built for R&B Falcon (which later became part of Transocean ) by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan , South Korea. Construction started in December 1998, the keel was laid on 21 March 2000, and the rig was delivered on 23 February 2001, after

416-624: A device known as a blind shear ram , was activated but failed to plug the well. Ten workers were presumed killed by the initial explosion: Jason Anderson, 35, of Midfield, Texas; Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana; Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, of Georgetown, Louisiana; Gordon Jones, 28, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, Louisiana; Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Mississippi; Keith Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, Louisiana; Dewey Revette, 48, of State Line, Mississippi; Shane Roshto, 22, Liberty, Mississippi; Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas. An eleventh

468-410: A draft of 9.2 m (30 feet) and a maximum cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The amidships derrick is 121 m (397 feet) above sea level, and the top drive has a lifting capacity of 1,000 tonnes (1,100 tons). Its complement of 150 crew are divided between 100 operators and 50 science personnel, with at sea crew changes handled by helicopter transfer. Key innovations include

520-404: A lack of funding. The scientific team was transferred to the federal state unitary subsidiary enterprise "Kola Superdeep," downsized, and given the new task of thoroughly studying the exposed section. In 2007, the scientific team was dissolved and the equipment was transferred to a private company and partially liquidated. In 2008, the company was liquidated due to unprofitability, and the site

572-484: A large percentage of legal claims against them by paying $ 1.1 billion into a trust by way of three installments during two years. On 4 September 2014, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled BP was guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct by the Clean Water Act (CWA). He described BP's actions as "reckless", while he said Transocean's and Halliburton's actions were "negligent". He apportioned 67% of

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624-628: A new world record for deep-sea drilling. This record has since been surpassed by the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit, operating on the Tiber prospect in the Mississippi Canyon Field, United States Gulf of Mexico, when it achieved a world record for total length for a vertical drilling string of 10,062 m (33,012 feet). The previous record was held by the U.S. vessel Glomar Challenger , which in 1978 drilled to 7,049.5 m (23,128 feet) below sea level in

676-466: A third of the way through the Baltic Shield of the continental crust , estimated to be around 35 kilometres (22 mi) deep, reaching Archean rocks at the bottom. Numerous unexpected geophysical discoveries were made: In 1992, an international geophysical experiment obtained a reflection seismic crustal cross-section through the well. The Kola-92 working group consisted of researchers from

728-435: Is featured and plays a pivotal role in the 2006 film Sinking of Japan . Kola Superdeep Borehole The Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3 ( Russian : Кольская сверхглубокая скважина СГ-3 , romanized :  Kol'skaya sverkhglubokaya skvazhina SG-3 ) is the deepest human-made hole on Earth (since 1979), which attained maximum true vertical depth of 12,262 metres (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) in 1989. It

780-570: Is responsible for the services to support activities including on-board staffing, data management for core samples and logging; implements engineering site surveys; and conducts engineering developments. CDEX contracts with the Mantle Quest Japan Company for the navigation of the ship. The Chikyū Hakken program is part of an international scientific collaborative effort with scientists from the United States , ECORD ,

832-734: Is the result of a scientific drilling effort to penetrate as deeply as possible into the Earth's crust conducted by the Soviet Union in the Pechengsky District of the Kola Peninsula , near the Russian border with Norway. SG (СГ) is a Russian designation for a set of superdeep ( Russian : сверхглубокая ) boreholes conceived as part of a Soviet scientific research programme of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aralsor SG-1 (in

884-637: The Al Shaheen Oil Field in Qatar, which attained a total length of 12,289 metres (40,318 ft) but depth of just 1,387 metres (4,551 ft). Deepwater Horizon Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned , semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP company. On April 20, 2010, while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at

936-513: The Deepwater Horizon of US$ 401 million about 5 May 2010. Financial analysts noted that the insurance recovery was likely to be more than the value of the rig (although not necessarily its replacement value) and any liabilities – the latter estimated at as much as US$ 200 million . Litigation, ultimate assessment of damage, and the scope of final insurance recovery were all unknown as of June 2010 , with analysts reporting that

988-585: The Macondo Prospect , a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on April 22, the Horizon collapsed, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and becoming the largest marine oil spill in history . Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries ,

1040-570: The Mariana Trench . On 6 September 2012, scientific deep sea drilling vessel Chikyū set a new world record by drilling down and obtaining rock samples from deeper than 2,111 meters below the seafloor off the Shimokita Peninsula of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. In addition, the 27 April 2012 drilling set a record for the depth of water for drilling of 6,960 m (22,830 feet). That record still stands. The D/V Chikyū

1092-440: The United States of America . According to an Associated Press investigation, certain safety documentation and emergency procedure information, including documentation for the exact incident that later occurred, was absent. The exact number of required monthly inspections performed varied over time; the inspections were performed as required for the first 40 months, but after that about 25% of inspections were omitted, although

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1144-849: The Deep Sea Drilling Project and the Ocean Drilling Program. The Japanese part of the IODP program is called Chikyū Hakken ( 地球発見 , Chikyū Hakken ) , Japanese for "Earth Discovery". Chikyū is operated by the Centre for Deep Earth Research (CDEX), a subdivision of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). JAMSTEC also operates the DSV Shinkai , Earth Simulator supercomputer and other marine scientific research projects. CDEX

1196-474: The Deepwater Horizon as an industry model for safety". According to AP's investigation "its record was so exemplary, according to MMS officials, that the rig was never on inspectors' informal 'watch list' for problem rigs". At 7:45 p.m. CDT on 20 April 2010, during the final phases of drilling the exploratory well off the gulf of Mexico, a geyser of seawater erupted from the marine riser onto

1248-691: The Pre-Caspian Basin of west Kazakhstan ) and Biyikzhal SG-2 (in Krasnodar Krai ), both less than 6,810 metres (22,340 ft) deep, preceded Kola SG-3, which was originally intended to reach 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) deep. Drilling at Kola SG-3 began in 1970 using the Uralmash -4E , and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig. A total of five 23-centimetre-diameter (9 in) boreholes were drilled, two branching from

1300-519: The acquisition of R&B Falcon by Transocean. Until 29 December 2004 the rig was registered in the Republic of Panama . Transocean, through its Steinhausen, Switzerland subsidiary Triton Asset Leasing GmbH, operated the rig under the Marshallese flag of convenience . The rig was leased to BP by a three-year contract for deployment in the Gulf of Mexico after construction. The lease

1352-565: The aftermath was of unprecedented scale and complexity compared to previous disasters which themselves took many years to resolve. A July 2010 analysis by the Financial Times of the aftermath cited legal sources as saying that "at some point the scale of the litigation becomes so large that it really is novel", that "the situation is likely to be complicated further because the variety of probable cases means it will be hard to aggregate them into so-called class actions " and that there

1404-648: The blame for the spill to BP, 30% to Transocean, and 3% to Halliburton. BP issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the finding, and saying the court's decision would be appealed. On 8 December 2014, The US Supreme Court rejected BP's legal challenge to a compensation deal for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The settlement agreement had no maximum, but BP initially estimated that it would pay about $ 7.8bn (£6.1bn) to compensate victims. As of 2018, approximately 390,000 claims for compensations had been filled, with around $ 65bn paid in settlements; thousands of claims were still outstanding. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill

1456-482: The blowout preventer) and the other in 2003 (pollution). A sixth citation in 2007 related to non- grounded electrical equipment was later withdrawn when the equipment was determined to be compliant with regulations. Overall the Deepwater Horizon 's safety record was "strong" according to a drilling consultant reviewing the information. In 2009 the Minerals Management Service "herald[ed]

1508-542: The bottom. Local preliminary school children who were visiting the ship at the time of the earthquake spent one night on board and were rescued by Japan Self-Defense Forces helicopters next day. The ship was repaired at a dock in Yokohama (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) and returned to service in June 2011. According to the IODP, on 27 April 2012, Chikyū drilled to a depth of 7,740 m (25,390 feet) below sea level, setting

1560-509: The coast of Louisiana. During its operational lifetime, the rig was actively in operation for 93% of the time it was in service (2,896 of 3,131 days). The remainder partly was time spent moving between sites. The Minerals Management Service (renamed on 18 June 2010 to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement , or Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOE)) is the regulatory and inspecting body for offshore oil drilling and rigs in

1612-410: The investigation notes this is partly expected, since there are circumstances such as weather and movement which preclude an inspection. Reports of the last three inspections for 2010 were provided by Freedom of Information legislation . Each of these inspections had taken two hours or less. During its lifetime the rig received 5 citations for non-compliance, 4 of which were in 2002 (safety, including

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1664-483: The prospect jointly owned by BP (65%), Anadarko Petroleum (25%) and MOEX Offshore 2007 (10%). Deepwater Horizon was still working on the Macondo site on 20 April 2010, when a violent explosion occurred resulting in destruction of the rig and the subsequent oil spill. This oil spill has been recorded as the largest offshore spill to occur to date, resulting in 40 miles (64 km) of coastal pollution. The well

1716-623: The rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon (a later asset of Transocean), registered in Majuro , and leased to BP from 2001 until September 2013. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m) in the Tiber Oil Field at Keathley Canyon block 102, approximately 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Houston , in 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water. Deepwater Horizon

1768-499: The rig was specified as "official registration number of 29273-PEXT-1, IMO number of 8764597, with gross tonnage of 32,588 and net tonnage of 9,778" and the transfer value as US$ 340 million . As of 2010 , the rig was insured for US$ 560 million covering the replacement cost and wreckage removal. Deepwater Horizon worked on wells in the Atlantis (BP 56%, BHP 44%) and Thunder Horse (BP 75%, ExxonMobil 25%) oil fields . It

1820-592: The rig was upgraded with "e-drill", a drill monitoring system whereby technical personnel based in Houston , Texas, received real-time drilling data from the rig and transmitted maintenance and troubleshooting information. Advanced systems had a major role in the rig's operation, from pressure and drill monitoring technology, to automated shutoff systems and modelling systems for cementing . The OptiCem cement modelling system, used by Halliburton in April 2010, played

1872-436: The rig, shooting 70 metres (230 ft) into the air. This was followed soon by the eruption of a slushy combination of drilling mud , methane gas , and water. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a firestorm. An attempt was made to activate the blowout preventer , but it failed. The final defense to prevent an oil spill,

1924-810: The third hole. Drilling was stopped in August ;1994 at 8,578 metres (28,143 ft) of depth due to lack of funds and the well itself was mothballed . The stated areas of study of the Kola Superdeep Borehole were the deep structure of the Baltic Shield , seismic discontinuities and the thermal regime in the Earth's crust, the physical and chemical composition of the deep crust and the transition from upper to lower crust, lithospheric geophysics, and to create and develop technologies for deep geophysical study. Drilling penetrated about

1976-676: The universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, the University of Wyoming in the United States, and the University of Bergen in Norway, as well as several Russian earth science research institutions. The experiment was documented in a video recorded by Professor David Smythe, which shows the drilling deck in action during an attempt to recover a tool dropped down the hole. The drilling ended in 1995 due to

2028-675: The well. The resultant oil spill continued until 15 July when it was closed by a cap. Relief wells were used to permanently seal the well, which was declared "effectively dead" on 19 September 2010. NOAA established the Gulf Spill Restoration project, administered by the Deep Water Horizon National Resource Damage Assessment Trustees, to help to restore much of the coastline. Transocean received an early partial insurance settlement for total loss of

2080-633: Was "no way to put this in historical context because we have never faced anything like this before". As with the Exxon Valdez disaster , litigation was being discussed in terms of a 20-year timescale. In January 2013, Transocean agreed to pay US$ 1.4 billion for violations of the US Clean Water Act. BP had earlier agreed to pay $ 2.4 billion but was liable to additional penalties that could range from $ 5 billion to $ 20 billion. In September 2014, Halliburton agreed to settle

2132-413: Was a fifth-generation, RBS-8D design (i.e. model type), deepwater, dynamically positioned , column-stabilized, semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit , designed to drill subsea wells for oil exploration and production using an 18.75 in (476 mm), 15,000 psi (100,000 kPa) blowout preventer , and a 21 in (530 mm) outside diameter marine riser . Deepwater Horizon

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2184-489: Was abandoned. It is still visited by sightseers, who report that the structure over the borehole has been partially destroyed or removed. The 12,262-metre (40,230 ft) deep Kola Superdeep Borehole has been the world's deepest borehole since 1979. It was also the longest borehole in the world from 1979 to 2008. Its record length was surpassed in May ;2008 by the curved extended reach drilling bore of well BD-04A in

2236-532: Was built for deep-sea geological scientific research, which now includes not only research of earthquake -generating zones in the Earth 's crust but also hydrothermal vents and subsea methane hydrate research. On 16 November 2007 Chikyū began drilling the NanTroSEIZE  [ Reasonator search ] transect as planned, reaching 1,400 m (4,600 feet) at the site of a future deep subsea floor observatory. The first stage of four NanTroSEIZE Stages

2288-517: Was completed in February 2008. The whole project was envisioned to be completed by 2012. The ship was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The ship was moored in the port of Hachinohe, Aomori . The tsunami wave pushed the Chikyu over the pier and the vessel sustained some damage. One of the six thrusters, No.5, was damaged and a 1.5-meter (4.9 ft) hole was made in

2340-433: Was crane operator Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi, who died in the subsequent fire. The rig was evacuated, with injured workers airlifted to medical facilities. After approximately 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon sank on 22 April 2010. The remains of the rig were located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) deep at that location, and about 400 metres (1,300 ft) northwest of

2392-494: Was described at times as a "lucky" and "celebrated" rig, and in 2007 was still described as "one of the most powerful rigs in the world". In 2006, it discovered oil in the Kaskida oil field and, in 2009, the "giant" Tiber oil field . The well in the Tiber field had a true vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and a measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m), below 4,132 ft (1,259 m) of water. The well

2444-491: Was in the final stages of completion after cement had been emplaced for its last casing string. The exploratory work had been described as "concluded" with permission having been requested already from MMS to terminate operations at the Macondo site. The rig was scheduled to move to its next roles as semi-permanent production platforms, initially at the Tiber site followed by a return to the Kaskida field, an oil dome 50 miles off

2496-404: Was renewed in 2004 for a year, 2005 for five years, and 2009 for three years covering 2010 to 2013. The last contract was worth $ 544 million, or $ 496,800 a day, for a "bare rig", with crew, gear and support vessels estimated to cost the same. According to R&B Falcon's filings to SEC in 2001, the transfer document between R&B Falcon and Transocean was dated 17 August 2001, and

2548-650: Was slightly modified to be able to reach a 7,000-metre (23,000 ft) depth. In 1974, the new purpose-built Uralmash-15000 drilling rig was installed onsite, named after the new target depth, set at 15,000 metres (49,000 ft). On 6 June 1979, the world depth record then held by the Bertha Rogers hole in Washita County, Oklahoma , United States, at 9,583 metres (31,440 ft), was broken by Kola SG-3. In October 1982, Kola SG-3's first hole reached 11,662 metres (38,261 ft). The second hole

2600-428: Was started in January 1983 from a 9,300-metre (30,500 ft) depth of the first hole. In 1983, the drill passed 12,000 metres (39,000 ft) in the second hole, and drilling was stopped for about a year for numerous scientific and celebratory visits to the site. This idle period may have contributed to a breakdown after drilling resumed; on 27 September 1984, after drilling to 12,066 metres (39,587 ft),

2652-603: Was the deepest oil well in the world and more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) farther below the seabed than the rig's official drilling specification stated on the company's fleet list. In February 2010, Deepwater Horizon commenced drilling an exploratory well at the Macondo Prospect ( Mississippi Canyon Block 252), about 41 miles (66 km) off the southeast coast of Louisiana , at a water depth of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The Macondo prospect exploration rights had been acquired by BP in 2009, with

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2704-598: Was the second semi-submersible rig constructed of a class of two, although Deepwater Nautilus , its predecessor, is not dynamically positioned. The rig was 396 by 256 ft (121 by 78 m) and capable of operating in waters as deep as 8,000 feet (2,400 m), to a maximum drill depth of 30,000 ft (9,100 m). In 2010 it was one of approximately 200 deepwater offshore rigs capable of drilling in waters deeper than 5,000 ft (1,500 m). Its American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) class notations were "A1, Column Stabilized Drilling Unit, AMS, ACCU, DPS-3". In 2002,

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