Adnoc Drilling has drilled a new world record for the longest well, at the Upper Zakum concession.
The well runs for 50,000 feet (15,240 metres), the company said. It may provide a 15,000 barrel per day boost at Upper Zakum. It is 800 feet longer than the previous record, set in 2017.
“This historic milestone is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our staff who have collectively demonstrated how, as a responsible operator, we are successfully maximising the use of advanced extended reach, horizontal and directional drilling methods,” said Adnoc Drilling CEO Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Seiari.
The company drilled the well from Umm Al Anbar, one of Adnoc Offshore’s four artificial islands on the concession. Also involved were the other partners in Upper Zakum, ExxonMobil and Inpex/JODCO.
Al Seiari said the record well was “in line with Adnoc Drilling’s quest to deliver increased efficiency for our customers”.
Drilling the well is also part of the company’s push for lower operational costs, he said.
Ahmad Saqer Al Suwaidi, Adnoc Offshore CEO, said Adnoc had pioneered the use artificial islands. This, with its drilling expertise, “is enabling us to drive growth, maximise value and minimise the environmental footprint of our operations. Working with our strategic international partners, we will continue to push the boundaries of engineering for the benefit of the UAE, our partners, and customers around the world.”
Exxon was also involved in the previous world record well, at the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s Far East. Inpex had a stake as well.
Rosneft said the group had drilled the 15,000 metre well from the Orlan platform. It extended into the Chaivo field, in the Sea of Okhotsk.
At the time, the Sakhalin-1 group claimed nine of the world’s 10 longest wells.