Completion Report for Well ER-16-1 Corrective Action Unit 99: Rainier Mesa - Shoshone Mountain
Well ER-16-1 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, in support of the Nevada Environmental Restoration Project at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The well was drilled in June and July 2005 as part of a hydrogeologic investigation program for the Rainier Mesa-Shoshone Mountain Corrective Action Unit, Number 99. The overall purpose of the well was to gather subsurface data to better characterize the hydrogeology of the Shoshone Mountain area, especially in the older Tertiary and pre-Tertiary strata. The main 46.99-centimeter hole was drilled to a depth of 702.9 meters and cased with 33.97-centimeter casing to 663.7 meters. The hole diameter was then decreased to 31.1 centimeters, and the well was drilled to total depth of 1,220.7 meters. A completion string set at the depth of 1,162.4 meters consisted of 13.97-centimeter stainless-steel casing, with one continuous slotted interval open to the lower carbonate aquifer. The fluid level in the borehole soon dropped, so the borehole was deepened in July 2006. To deepen the borehole, the slotted section was cemented and a 12.1-centimeter hole was drilled through the bottom of the completion string to the new total depth of 1,391.7 meters, which is 171.0 meters deeper than the original borehole. A string of 6.03-centimeter carbon-steel tubing with one continuous slotted interval at 1,361.8 to 1,381.4 meters, and open to the lower carbonate aquifer, was installed in the well with no gravel packing or cement, to serve as a monitoring string. Data gathered during and shortly after hole construction include composite drill cuttings samples collected every 3 meters (extra cuttings samples were collected from the Paleozoic rocks for paleontological analyses), sidewall core samples from 37 depths, various geophysical logs, and water level measurements. These data indicate that the well penetrated 646.8 meters of Tertiary volcanic rocks and 744.9 meters of Paleozoic dolomite, quartzite, shale, and limestone. Three weeks after the monitoring string was installed, the water level was tagged at the drill hole depth of 1,271.9 meters, which equates to an estimated elevation of 761.7 meters, accounting for the borehole angle.
- Research Organization:
- National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE - National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC52-06NA25946
- OSTI ID:
- 917992
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV-1180; DOE/NV/25946-089; TRN: US0805198
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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