KTB completes first year of drilling on ultradeep borehole

The third phase in the world's most sophisticated deep drilling project ended this summer with the borehole at a depth of 3,003 m or 9,852 ft. The scientific probe into the lithosphere near the German/Czechoslovakian border in Bavaria is on schedule and now well into the fourth phase that will carry it to a depth of 6,000 m (19,684 ft). At mid-September, the hole depth was 4,250 m. The final objective is a depth of 10-12 km or some 33,000-40,000 ft. Although all the drilling has been and will be in crystalline rock, it is certain that many of the new procedures, hardware, and measuring systems developed and being used will have practical application in conventional oil and gas drilling.