Bertha Rogers, oil-exploratory borehole in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States
The Bertha Rogers is a sealed borehole in Washita County, Oklahoma, drilled between 1972 and 1974. It reached a depth of over 9,600 meters (31,400 feet) and was one of the deepest wells of its time, but it was eventually plugged and remains inactive today.
The borehole was started in 1972 by Lone Star Producing Company using the world's largest land rig at the time to explore for natural gas at extreme depths. During drilling, the crew encountered molten sulfur and extreme pressure conditions that caused setbacks, before the project was completed in 1974.
The site is located near Burns Flat in rural Washita County and is now sealed and closed to the public. Visitors can see the location from the road, but direct access to the borehole site itself is not available.
The well encountered liquid sulfur at extreme depth during drilling, which created severe technical challenges for the operation. While it produced little gas, this was one of the most technically demanding drilling attempts of its era.
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