How long are the Hibernia wells?
Wells drilled to the edges of the oilfield from the centrally located Hibernia production platform are very long. The Hibernia B-16 11 well, drilled into the northwest corner of the oilfield, had a measured depth of 8485 metres. It was the 13th longest well drilled in the world at the time of its completion (according to data collated by BP on extended reach drilling, ERD Database). The above figure is a seismic section along the path of the B-16 11 well. This figure shows how extended reach wells travel horizontally at the same time as they drill down. This section also shows numerous faults (tears in the rock fabric) intersected by the wellbore on its way to the target horizon. Faults labelled s900aha and s700aha, for example, are two of the major faults which divide the Hibernia reservoir into separate compartments. The Hibernia reservoir was the target of this well. It was penetrated at the closely spaced yellow, green and brown horizons seen near 4000 metres, true vertical depth b
