dry holes
Fruitless drilling sites
Dry holes are oil or gas wells that fail to produce commercially viable quantities of petroleum.
The term extends to any failed prospecting effort or investigation that yields nothing useful: We interviewed dozens of witnesses but kept coming up dry holes.
In business and research, dry holes represent wasted investment in unproductive ventures.
- fruitlessProducing no useful outcome
- unsuccessfulNot achieving desired outcome
- striking outEliminating by crossing through
- blind alleyPassage without outlet
- futileIncapable of producing results
failures · unproductive · dead end · sunk cost · money pit · boreholes · empty · wells · gusher · explorations · void · drilling · excavations · petroleum · financial loss · natural gas · fracking · barrens