Today the science team and contractors met to discuss methods for sampling fluids from the well to measure gas and fluid geochemistry at depth. Casing and cementing of the SAFOD well to 1978 ft was completed today.
Today SAFOD well made progress down to 1867 ft depth where a survey showed the well is near vertical. Currently we are passing through a clay-rich zone and steadily approaching the 2000 foot casing point.
We are currently at a depth of 1410 ft and are advancing through a section of unconsolidated sands at a rate of approximately 15 ft/hr with the new bit that was attached last night.
The Duke Univ. seismic crew arrived today to finish installing an array of geophones that will record the vibration of the bit during drilling. As the borehole reaches a depth of 500' drilling is expected to continue at a steady pace through the night.
Today the SAFOD borehole was advanced by 100 feet. The system used to monitor drilling was calibrated this morning and all drilling-related data is now available in real-time both on-site and via the world wide web.
The first 200' of the SAFOD borehole were drilled successfully and we are now waiting for the cement around the casing to set before drilling will continue with a 26"" bit.
The SAFOD borehole is spud at 6:30am on June 11, 2004. We are now turning to the right with a 36"" bit on our way to penetrating the San Andreas Fault.
The rig is nearing completion as we approach the start of drilling. Additional crew are arriving on site, and scientists are getting ready for the data to start flowing (pun intended!).
Cranes and pulleys were very busy at the SAFOD site today as the derrick and rig floor were raised into place. Now various pieces of equipment are being lifted onto the rig, and final adjustments are being made to the site in preparation for drilling.
After 14 hours of hard work the seismic GERI string was successfully deployed and seismometers all the way down the string picked up a signal from the explosive tests. Congratulations to everyone for a successful completion of the SAFOD Pilot Hole!
After laying down the last of the coring pipe the seismic team from Duke University (led by Peter Malin) is preparing to install the downhole seismic array by the light of the full moon.
Unfortunately our last coring run in the SAFOD Pilot Hole was not fruitful. Due to budget and time constraints we are proceeding with installation of the downhole seismic array.
Two coring runs were attempted but unfortunately recovered only additional remnants of the temperature tool. We are now milling out junk at the bottom of the hole and will attempt coring again tomorrow.
We ran in 7"" casing to 7100 feet and cemented it back to surface. After allowing cement to cure, we are now milling out cement plug and temperature tool cemented in place just below casing shoe.
Today Schlumberger finished their logging operations, after which we started running 7"" casing into the hole. We also led a site tour for about 40 people from the USGS office in Menlo Park, CA.
Today Sclumberger logged the Pilot Hole, acquiring the traditional geophysical logs (porosity, density, induction etc.) and a beautiful Formation Micro Imager log. Logging continues through the night with the Ultra Sonic Borehole Imager.
After a 14 hour fishing operation, the wireline was successfully removed from the hole although the temperature probe is still on bottom and will be drilled out later.
The temperature log has been successfully acquired by the USGS. However, the temperature tool is now stuck in the hole and fishing operations are underway.
Currently the borehole is being circulated and conditioned before logging begins. The first log is the temperature log which will be conducted by Colin Williams and Fred Grubb (USGS) at approximately midnight.
Congratulations to everyone on the SAFOD Pilot Hole team - WE MADE IT! The SAFOD Pilot Hole is 7112 feet deep (112' greater than our target depth) and the rotary drilling phase of the project is complete.
Despite choosing an extremely hot day for their fieldtrip our visitors from Stanford enjoyed seeing the drillsite today as the borehole reached a depth of 6970 feet
Despite scorching hot temperatures in Parkfield today (104 F), the SAFOD Pilot Hole team worked as hard as ever and the hole has advanced to 6000 feet.
At 10:45 pm the SAFOD pilot hole is at a depth of 5765 feet and the inclination of the hole is holding steady with the latest survey result showing a deviation of 2.5 degrees.
The hole has advanced today by 368 feet. This is the most footage achieved in a day since June 16th when we were still in unconsolidated sediments and drilled 538 feet.
Mud motor drilling continues on the SAFOD pilot hole. Our current depth is 4717 feet (with an average ROP of 20 ft/hr) and the deviation from vertical has been reduced to 2.5 degrees.
Everybody on site celebrated the fourth of July today with a big BBQ. In addition to enjoying gourmet hamburgers the drill crews also advanced the hole by over 200 feet (to a depth of 4600 ft) and our rate of penetration increased to a maximum of 20 feet/hr during the day.
We are currently at 4392 feet (at 8:38 pm) and the last survey at a depth of 4383' indicated that the deviation of the borehole from vertical has increased to 4.5 degrees necessitating the use of the directional mud motor again.
Media Day! While drilling proceeded in the background, journalists visited the SAFOD Pilot Hole project for an extensive tour of the site, an overview presentation of the project objectives and a field trip to the USGS Parkfield Earthquake Experiment at Carr Hill.
At a depth of 3900 feet, the borehole intersected a small fault zone with a width of 10 to 20 ft (estimated from rate of penetration and cuttings mineralogy). Our real-time gas analysis system recorded an increase in methane and carbon dioxide, also indicative of a fractured zone.