All articles tagged with #drilling
Drilling straight through the Earth is currently impossible due to extreme heat and pressure, with the deepest borehole reaching only about 12 kilometers, far from penetrating the Earth's crust or core. The immense temperatures and pressures at the Earth's interior would destroy drilling equipment and make such a project unfeasible with current technology.
The article explores the possibility of drilling straight through the Earth, highlighting current deep drilling efforts like China's 10,000-meter hole and Russia's Kola Superdeep Borehole, and discusses the insurmountable challenges posed by extreme pressure and temperature as one approaches the Earth's core, making a complete tunnel through the planet currently impossible.
Fervo Energy successfully drilled a deep, hot geothermal well reaching 15,765 feet and 520°F in just 16 days, setting new performance records and demonstrating the scalability of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The results support the potential for large-scale, deep geothermal energy deployment beyond the western US, with independent verification indicating significant thermal energy reserves and capacity for over 5 GW of development. This advancement positions geothermal as a key contributor to the US's clean energy future amid rising power demands.
The Trump administration announced plans to revoke federal protections in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, opening millions of acres to drilling and mining, reversing Biden-era restrictions and aiming to expand oil and gas extraction in the region.
The Biden administration has expanded federal protections across millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness, blocking oil, gas, and mining operations in an effort to shield the land from drilling and mining. This includes denying a permit for an industrial road through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and banning drilling in more than half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. These moves are part of a broader environmental effort ahead of Earth Day to cement President Biden's climate and conservation legacy, despite potential challenges from industry and Alaskan leaders.
Scientists have explored the hypothetical scenario of drilling through the Earth's layers to the other side. The process would require a massive drill and decades of work. The deepest human-made hole, the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, is only 7.6 miles deep, far from reaching the mantle, which is about 50 miles away. The extreme pressures and temperatures, such as 2,570 degrees Fahrenheit in the mantle and 7,200 to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the outer core, would pose significant challenges. Additionally, the drill would have to overcome the pull of gravity and work against it to reach the other side.
Former President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to be a "dictator for one day" during a speech at the New York Young Republican Club's annual gala. Trump stated that he wants to secure the southern border and initiate drilling in the U.S. His remarks prompted chants of "build a wall" from the audience. Concerns have been raised by Democrats and some Republicans about the potential abuse of power and threats to democracy in a second Trump term. The gala also featured speeches from Rep. Matt Gaetz and Sen. Roger Marshall, both of whom have endorsed Trump's 2024 reelection bid.
Rescuers have successfully drilled through to the 41 men trapped inside a collapsed Himalayan tunnel in India's Uttarakhand state. The men have been trapped since November 12, and rescue efforts faced setbacks due to machinery breakdowns. The drilling was completed after 17 days, and a large pipe was pushed through the exit shaft for the men to be brought to safety. The laborers, who have been receiving food, water, and oxygen through a pipe, remain in good health. The tunnel is part of a project to upgrade India's transport network.
Efforts to rescue 40 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, have expanded to include drilling from the mountain top, as previous attempts to clear debris from the tunnel's mouth have failed. Contact has been established with the workers, who are being provided with oxygen and food. The rescue operation is expected to take another four or five days, and tensions have risen among officials and friends of the trapped workers. The tunnel collapse occurred after a landslide, and the tunnel is part of a highway project to improve access to pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand.
ExxonMobil has begun drilling for lithium in the US with the goal of becoming a leading supplier of the material crucial for electric vehicle (EV) batteries by 2030. The company aims to use its expertise in oil drilling to extract lithium from brine reservoirs using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, which produces fewer carbon emissions and requires less land compared to traditional mining methods. ExxonMobil plans to start lithium production in 2027 and hopes to supply enough lithium for over one million EVs per year by 2030. While the move is seen as a positive step for the EV supply chain, critics argue that ExxonMobil's motivation is purely profit-driven rather than a genuine commitment to sustainability.
A YouTuber named KrisFix demonstrates an extreme method of repairing a faulty MSI Radeon RX 6900XT GPU by manually drilling into the PCB and inserting a small wire to rectify a disrupted memory pad. This unconventional approach highlights the potential for salvaging seemingly irreparable graphics cards with the right tools and expertise, offering significant cost savings for the owner.
Despite Western sanctions and pledges to reduce output, Russian oil producers have accelerated drilling activities, surpassing last year's record. The increased drilling is not indicative of compliance with output cuts, as crude oil exports by sea continue to decline. The high drilling activity may be aimed at preparing for increased production capacity after the expiration of OPEC+ cuts or to maintain current production levels as oilfields age.
Chinese engineers have begun drilling super deep boreholes in their search for natural resources hidden deep underground. The latest project in the Sichuan Basin aims to reach a depth of 10,520 meters, while another project in the Tarim Basin plans to go even deeper at 11,100 meters. These boreholes, if completed, would be among the deepest in the world. The drilling is not only aimed at understanding the Earth's formation but also tapping into potentially lucrative energy reserves. China, being the world's second-largest economy and biggest carbon emitter, has a strong need for energy security.
Scientists have drilled into the Atlantis Massif, an underwater mountain located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to extract a record-breaking core of upper mantle rock that stretches more than 3,280 feet long. The rock was mainly peridotite, a coarse igneous rock that is filled with olivine and pyroxene and is the most common rock type in the upper mantle. This discovery will provide geologists with a treasure trove of information about Earth's inner workings, including clues into diverse processes such as volcanism and the planet's magnetic field.
Geoscientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution drilling vessel have collected pieces of Earth's rocky mantle from a mile beneath the North Atlantic ocean floor at an underwater mountain called Atlantis Massif. Although they did not drill into the mantle, they did recover the deepest mantle rock ever, getting samples from as deep as 4,157 feet. The samples can provide direct evidence for how ocean crust differs in composition from the upper mantle, better estimates of “the global composition of the bulk Earth,” and help researchers better understand how magma melts, flows, and separates.