Last week, China began excavating a huge hole more than 11 kilometers deep. This is the country’s largest drilling project, in Taklamakan, the world’s second-largest dune desert, located in the country’s northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The pit will traverse more than ten geological strata, reaching strata dating back to the Cretaceous Period of the planet, between 145 and 66 million years ago. The expected duration is 457 days, with 2,000 tons of equipment and machinery to operate.
Those responsible for the initiative argue that the hole has two objectives: scientific and economic, and is succeeding at a time when China is making significant strides in its consolidation as a global technological and scientific power.
According to geophysicist Cristian Farías, director of civil works and geology at the Catholic University of Temuco, the project in China “enables the testing of the most innovative technological developments”, and could therefore “open a very interesting era of exploration”.
“Drilling the well has two purposes: scientific research and gas and oil discovery,” said Lyu Xiaogang, a representative of the National Petroleum Corporation of China (CNPC).
This project also serves to strengthen the technological capabilities of PetroChina (a company controlled by CNPC and traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) in deep excavation and new machine manufacturing, Xiaogang added.
In addition, the CNPC stated that it is exploring new ultra-deep oil and gas fields as the Taklamakan Desert has privileged reserves of these fossil fuels.
However, according to experts, this exploration entails considerable technical and technological challenges due to the difficult subsurface conditions, such as high pressure and extreme temperatures. The Taklamakan Desert reaches extreme temperatures reaching -20ºC in winter and almost 40ºC in summer.
“And the stability of that well is also a big challenge,” says Cristian Farías.
The operation began two years after the country’s president Xi Jinping urged the local scientific community to continue exploring the depths of the Earth’s crust.
Source: DN
