We know that deep drilling causes problems for pipe flanges and other components. Heat, pressure and corrosion all combine to cause cracking, fatigue and failure unless the very best alloys are used. Yet even super duplex has a finite existence. In order to drill deeper, we first must know what we’re up against.

In the Gulf of Mexico are the world’s deepest untapped oil reserves, at the Tiber Oilfield. Already home to the deepest oil well in the world, BP now wants to explore deeper still – beyond the massive salt accumulations known to distort seismic waves, and way beyond the 6.7 miles drilled already, but will the pipe flanges take the pressure?

Much of what has been discovered so far has been down to the world’s deepest borehole – the Kola Superdeep, in Russia. Opened in 1972, it has revolutionised our knowledge of the Earth’s crust – which is a far more hostile place than geologists give it credit for. For example, at 7.5 miles down, drills encounter temperatures of 180°C, and pressures so high the rocks become “plastic” – solid to the touch, yet flowing like thick mud around the drill hole. Going past this point is impossible, with current technology.

The drilling apparatus Kola employs is very different to the rotating shafts of conventional deep-drilling rigs. Only the drill bit at the very end rotates, achieved by forcing drilling mud through the drill centre. As you can imagine, all the pipe fittings are specially made.

We at Chemipetro realise that few pipe fittings are as unusual as those at the Kola Borehole. Nonetheless, we will happily customise pipe flanges and fittings for your own projects.