This past week has been frustrating. The week started with very slow drilling into very hard formation rock. The formation was so hard that one of the drill bits was literally ‘worn to bits‘ ; when we pulled the drill bit out of the hole, it was missing all three of its cones.
The photograph in the middle shows three of our (old and used) tricone drill bits. As you can see (photograph to the right) some of the tungsten carbide insert teeth have been completely worn away. However, it seems that our latest drill bit wasn’t just worn down. Possibly, it first lost one cone and then, as the remaining two cones of the bit tried to drill through the broken cone, the remaining two cones just broke apart.
So, we tried to ‘fish’ for the missing parts with a ‘junk basket’. As the fishing procedure didn’t retrieve the missing metal parts from the hole, we went back into the hole with a rock bit (a drill bit with milled teeth designed to flake the rock) and a junk basket. However, if the missing parts were forced into the formation, then most likely they will not be recovered and will not cause us any further problem.
To add to our delay, we also suffered some down-time as the rig required some maintenance and repair.
So, this past week, we have made approximately 328 feet (100 meters) in drilling progress and, as I write, we are drilling through shale and dolomite at a depth of approximately 17,470 feet (5,325 meters) towards our final target of approximately 18,040 feet (5,500 meters).
Operations on the site of the proposed Elijah #3 Well
As I mentioned last week, we have signed an agreement with Kibbutz Ein Carmel regarding our planned Elijah #3 well.
The photograph above was taken on Friday, August 7, 2009, at the proposed new drill site and shows Zion’s Drilling Manager, Jerry Carlisle, pointing to the exact location of the Elijah #3 well.
As you can see, the Kibbutz has removed its equipment from the area and this past week we have finished measuring and surveying and begun preparing the site, so that, when appropriate, the drilling rig will be able to move directly from Kibbutz Ma’anit to Kibbutz Ein Carmel.
You may be interested to know that the trees in the background are banana trees.
In any event, we are making good progress with preparations for drilling the Elijah #3 well.
