In the oil industry measured depth (commonly referred to as MD, or just the depth), is the length of the borehole. In conventional vertical wells, this conincides with the true vertical depth, but in directional or horizontal wells, especially those using extended reach drilling, the two can deviate greatly. For example, at the time of writing (2012) a borehole in Odoptu field, Sakhalin-I, has the greatest measured depth of any borehole at 12,345 m, but most of this is horizontal, giving it a true vertical depth of only 1,784 m. For comparison, the Kola Superdeep Borehole has a slightly shorter measured depth at 12,262 m, but since this is a vertical borehole, this is also equal to the true vertical depth, making the Kola Superdeep Borehole deeper by a factor of 6.9.
Famous quotes containing the words measured and/or depth:
“What is life but the angle of vision? A man is measured by the angle at which he looks at objects. What is life but what a man is thinking all day? This is his fate and his employer. Knowing is the measure of the man. By how much we know, so much we are.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“You are now
In London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow
At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore
Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more.
Yet in its depth what treasures!”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)