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There is, as they say, an XKCD for every situation: https://xkcd.com/1330/ https://xkcd.com/1330/ And showing relative depths -- it always surprises me that mo
by andrewaylett 7y ago
There is, as they say, an XKCD for every situation: https://xkcd.com/1330/ https://xkcd.com/1330/
And showing relative depths -- it always surprises me that modern oil wells aren't actually _all_ that shallower: https://xkcd.com/1040/ https://xkcd.com/1040/
- andrewla 7y agoThe Kola borehole: > reached 12,262 metres (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) in 1989 While Deepwater Horizon's deepest drill: > 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)
- andrewaylett 7y agoMy understanding is that the well is measured from the point at which drilling starts -- so the Deepwater Horizon started lower down, and one can therefore argue that the depth they reached (as opposed to the depth they drilled) is 11,944m. It's maybe not a useful technical measure, but it's a lot closer in "depth" than I imagined it would be given the amount of attention given to the Kola borehole, and especially the tales of the difficulties they faced. Makes me think that one of the big oil companies could probably beat the record if they wanted.
- creaghpatr 7y agoThat XKCD was great.
- umvi 7y ago> it always surprises me that modern oil wells aren't actually _all_ that shallower There is a theory that oil is actually generated as a by product of the mantle itself, not by buried prehistoric plants. If that's the case, oil could truly be a limitless resource, which is bad news for the climate.
- msisk6 7y agoWell, there's a theory the earth is hollow and inhabited by dinosaurs and aliens, too. ;) I think the best argument against abiogenic petroleum in the mantle is that if the theory had any merit Exxon would have figured out a way to bore into the mantle decades ago.
- MisterTea 7y ago> There is a theory that oil is actually generated as a by product of the mantle itself, not by buried prehistoric plants. Sounds like more like alchemy than actual science. What magical process transmutes rock into long chain hydrocarbons?
- umvi 7y agoI'm not saying I believe it, but the mantle does contain natural hydrocarbons and it's not just "rock" - it's a very slow moving liquid under immense temperatures and pressures. Who knows what kinds of reactions might happen on mantle-crust (or other) boundaries.
- pixl97 7y agoAnd it helps to remember that hydrogen is the most common element in the solar system. Its not common on the surface, but huge amounts of it are trapped in the earth's interior.
- a1369209993 7y ago
- huhtenberg 7y agoWe did something like /1330/ in Terraria. We drained the ocean directly into the Underworld. It worked beautifully :)