Kola Superdeep Borehole
Borehole in Russia, deepest on Earth
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Key Takeaways
- 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) in 1989.
- 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.
- Drilling at Kola SG-3 began in 1970 using the Uralmash-4E , and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig.
- 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 at the Al Shaheen Oil Field in Qatar.
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) in 1989. It 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 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 a central shaft and two from 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 at the Al Shaheen Oil Field in Qatar.
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