# Measured depth

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Length of an oil borehole

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(a) is an imaginary line representing the true vertical depth, while line (b) is the [borehole](/source/Borehole) itself, and its length is called the measured depth.

In the [oil industry](/source/Oil_industry) **measured depth** (commonly referred to as MD, or just the **depth**) is the length of the drilled [borehole](/source/Borehole).[1] In conventional vertical wells, this coincides with the [true vertical depth](/source/True_vertical_depth), but in [directional](/source/Directional_well) or [horizontal](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horizontal_well&action=edit&redlink=1) wells, especially those using [extended reach drilling](/source/Extended_reach_drilling), the two can deviate greatly. For example, at the time of writing (2012) a borehole in Odoptu field, [Sakhalin-I](/source/Sakhalin-I), has the greatest measured depth of any borehole at 12,345 m, but most of this is horizontal, giving it a true vertical depth of only 1,784 m. For comparison, the [Kola Superdeep Borehole](/source/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole) has a slightly shorter measured depth at 12,262 m, but since this is a vertical borehole, this is also equal to the true vertical depth, making the Kola Superdeep Borehole deeper by a factor of 6.9.

## See also

- [Depth in a well](/source/Depth_in_a_well)

- [True vertical depth](/source/True_vertical_depth)

- [Driller's depth](/source/Driller's_depth)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Schlumberger_1-0)** Schlumberger (2011). ["Measured depth"](http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=measured%20depth). *Oilfield Glossary*. Retrieved 3 February 2011.

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