Recent developments in scientific deep drilling in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The historical background to scientific deep drilling in the United Kingdom was reviewed by Whittaker (1984), who noted that the bulk of purely scientific drilling in Britain had been carried out by, or for, the British Geological Survey (BGS). Approximately between 1955 and 1975, the BGS drilled numerous boreholes, some of comparatively shallow depth, to solve local geological or geophysical problems but with a bias towards resolving stratigraphical problems commonly as part of its ongoing mapping programme. In addition to this BGS activity, of course, numerous wells or boreholes were sunk by various organisations with specific targets in mind, for example, for purposes of hydrocarbons, coal or mineral exploration. Since the late 1970s, however, funding for BGS scientific drilling purposes, never great, has ceased entirely, although the British Department of Energy has funded several deep research wells since that date.