The Anadarko Basin

The deep Anadarko Basin of western Oklahoma is one of North America's most prolific gas provinces, with some of the world's deepest wells drilled there. In Washita County, the Bertha-Rogers No. 1 was drilled in 1971 to 31,441 feet and was then the world's deepest well in 1979, while the No. 1 Sanders Well near Sayre became Oklahoma's deepest gas producer at 24,996 feet. After controls on gas prices were lifted, Anadarko justified the faith and perseverance of the CHK Company and other operators who pioneered deep drilling. The shallow horizons of Greater Anadarko account for much of the nation's proved gas reserves, while deeper sediments below 15,000 feet remain virtually unexplored. Renewed assessment of some 22,000 cubic miles of deep sediments may extend into the 21st century. During the twentieth century's final quarter, the basin remained the frontier of deep drilling, with technology centered on Elk City, the deep gas capital of the world, and with the nation's needs expected to be met increasingly from this massive sedimentary basin. A focal point in drilling innovation and geological interpretation, Anadarko was portrayed as central to re-energizing America, though its gas would not be yielded easily or briefly and the rewards beyond existing drilling techniques would require massive investment. In challenging the inventive enterprise of America's energy industry, the basin was presented as the heartland of technology for penetrating the Earth's crust.

Elk City, Oklahoma · United States