China Breaks Asian Record with Deepest Vertical Well

Hold onto your hard hats, folks! China just drilled Asia's deepest vertical well, plunging 10,910 meters into the Earth—nearly 11 kilometers below the desert sands of Xinjiang. Dubbed ‘Shenditake-1’, this engineering marvel in the Tarim Basin now ranks as the second-deepest vertical well globally, trailing only a Soviet-era project from the 1990s.

Why This Matters

Think of it like climbing Mount Qomolangma… then digging two more kilometers underground. The project, led by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), unlocks ultra-deep oil and gas reserves critical for energy security. With over 300 wells already drilled beyond 8,000 meters in the region, China’s pushing the limits of what’s possible in Earth’s crust.

Challenges in the Depths

Workers battled 220°C temperatures, pressure equivalent to 1,450 atmospheres, and desert swings from scorching summers to freezing winters. The final 910 meters alone took 300 days—longer than the initial 10,000 meters! CNPC even built a 12,000-meter automated rig (yes, that’s a real thing) to handle equipment weighing up to 665 tonnes. Talk about heavy lifting!

‘Shenditake-1 isn’t just a hole in the ground—it’s a symbol of China’s growing tech leadership,’ said CNPC expert Dou Lirong. With deep-Earth resources making up 34% of China’s energy potential, this well could be the start of a new gold rush… for oil and gas.

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China drills deepest vertical well in Asia

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