The coring finished on February 18, with 48 lengths of core recovered. The hole was deepened to 1166 m by February 20, and because part of the drill bit was lost in the bottom of the hol, it was decided to end the hole there. The past two days have been incredibly busy. Over a period of 29.75 hours, the open hole logging of the main well was completed. In that program, five combinations of geophysical instruments were lowered down the main well and slowly pulled back up (at rates between 100 and 500 metres/hour) as measurements of a range of physical and electrical properties of the sediment and gas hydrate horizons were made. Tim Collett (USGS) and Fuminori Sawamura (JNOC), the scientists supervising the seven- person Schlumberger work crew, said that they got high quality data in record time because of the excellent condition of the hole. The Schlumberger crew then moved over to the first observation hole to help with a seismic survey, while casing along with two Distributed Temperature Survey cables were cemented into the main well. In total, 20 geophysical contractors, 14 scientists, and a 40-strong drill crew working in two shifts, are all going flat out around the clock.

The seismic experiment underway in Mallik 3L-38, assisted by the 75 foot "cherry picker" truck.

Needless to say, when a delegation of ten senior government and industry officials from Japan, Canada and the USA toured the site today, they were impressed by both the scope and intensity of activities. Tomorrow the visitors will tour the Inuvik Research Centre and be briefed on aspects of the coring program, followed by a reception where they will meet with the scientists and northern community leaders.

VIP's arrive at the Mallik 2002 site.