Oil Well Drilling Depth Reference Specifications
Depth in a well Oil Well Drilling Depth Reference Specifications with respect to certain datums In the oil and gas industry, depth in a well is the measurement, for any point in that well, of the distance between a reference point or elevation, and that point. It is the most common method of reference for locations in the well, and therefore, in oil industry speech, "depth" also refers to the location itself. By extension, depth can refer to locations below, or distances from, a reference point or elevation, even when there is no well. In that sense, depth is a concept related to elevation , albeit in the opposite direction. Depth in a well is not necessarily measured vertically or along a straight line. Because wells are not always drilled vertically, there may be two "depths" for every given point in a wellbore: the measured depth (MD) measured along the path of the borehole , and the true vertical depth (TVD) , the absolute ...