RIASSUNTO
The method of drilling deep wells into the earth for the recovery of oil andgas is beset with many hazards. This is especially true in the Ventura Avenuefield, which has the distinction of being the hardest field in California inwhich to complete a deep well. The hard, shifting and squeezing formations mustbe penetrated to great depths in the face of tremendous gas pressures. Thisfield presents problems that keep the operators abreast with all of the latestdevelopments in oil-field tools and machinery and in oil-well drillingpractices. Equipment must be strong, and adapted to deep-well drilling and thehandling of long heavy strings of casing. High-pressure sands require theutmost care and attention of the operators and no chances can be taken, since aserious blowout may cause the loss of a well that has cost months of labor andexpense. Equipment must meet these requirements or be discarded.
Although the deepest wells in the world are not in this field, nor have thelongest strings of casing been set, nevertheless, the consistency with whichdeep wells are drilled and long strings of casing are set places the VenturaAvenue field foremost, in this respect, among the oil fields of the world. TheVentura Avenue field does claim the deepest commercial oil-producing well inthe world, in the Shell Co. of California's ""Edison"" No. 18. This wellwas drilled 7015 ft. and came in flowing 3280 bbl. of oil per day. This fieldalso claims the deepest average depth of producing wells in that its 111producing wells average 5676 ft. in depth. Of these 111 producing wells, 50 are6000 ft. or deeper, and 16 are 6,100 ft. or deeper. Also, of the 111 producingwells 100 are flowing, and 11 are pumping wells.
This paper is intended to set forth the methods used in the drilling of deepwells with rotary tools and the handling of long heavy strings of casing in theVentura Avenue field.