China completes drilling of Asia's deepest vertical well

中国完成亚洲最深的垂直井的钻探

BEIJING/URUMQI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced Thursday that it has completed the drilling of the deepest vertical well in Asia, as a borehole reached a depth of 10,910 meters in China's northwestern desert.

中国国家石油公司（CNPC)本周二宣布，已经完成亚洲最深的垂直井的钻探，因为在中国西北部的沙漠地带钻孔抵达的深度达到10910米。

Located in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the well, known as "Shenditake 1," is a scientific exploration project.

位于新疆维吾尔自治区的塔里木盆地的塔克拉玛干沙漠的心脏部位的这口被命名为“深地塔科1井”是一个科考项目。

Completing this well has strengthened China's ultra-deep oil and gas exploration capabilities. With upgraded domestically-developed drilling technologies and equipment, scientists have also made a significant step forward in understanding the Earth's history, geological evolution and ancient climate changes.

完成这口井的钻探增强了中国超深油气勘探的能力。通过国内升级开发的钻探技术和装备，科学家们还向着地球历史、地质演变和古代气候变化的钻研方面又迈进了一大步。

SETTING NEW RECORDS

The Tarim Basin contains vast, deep-seated oil and gas reserves that are flanked by the Tianshan and Kunlun mountains. However, it is also one of the most challenging regions to explore due to its harsh surface conditions and complex underground structures.

The vertical well, the second deepest across the world, also made other engineering breakthroughs globally, including the deepest liner cementing, deepest wireline imaging logging and fastest onshore drilling to exceed 10,000 meters.

According to CNPC, drilling began on May 30, 2023. It took over 580 days to complete the 10,910-meter drilling, with more than half of the time -- some 300 days --- spent on the final 910 meters.

"Every additional meter increases drilling complexity exponentially," said Min Peng, director of the drilling platform, who has been stationed on-site throughout the project.

After such continuous effort, the well has penetrated 12 geological formations, ultimately reaching rock layers that date back over 500 million years.