China is drilling a 10,000-meter-deep hole in the earth’s surface

China began to dig a 10,000-meter-deep hole in the earth’s crust to conduct scientific research. The drilling well, which will be the deepest in the country, is located in the oil-rich Xinjiang region. The day the process began, China also sent its first civilian astronaut into space from the Gobi Desert.

A hole of 10 thousand meters will be drilled on the surface

Chinese media reported that the project “represents a milestone in China’s deep earth exploration and provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the deep regions of the planet below the surface.” It is stated that the borehole in question will penetrate more than ten continental or rock layers and reach beyond the Cretaceous system, which contains 145-million-year-old remains in the earth’s crust.

According to the report, scientists will use this hole to reveal energy sources and rich minerals and examine the deep composition of the Earth. The drilling will also be used to assess the risks of environmental disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Leading the project, China National Petroleum Corp. says this drilling will also be used to test deep underground drilling technologies.

Purpose, energy and science

The design depth of the 2,000-ton drill rig can reach up to 11,100 meters. However, drilling is expected to take 457 days. It is reported that the drilling well located in the Taklimakan Desert, China’s largest desert, will not be an easy excavation because the ground environment is home to harsh and complex underground conditions. “The construction difficulty of the drilling project is comparable to a large truck traveling on two thin steel cables,” says Sun Jinsheng, a scientist from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

On the other hand, although the Drilling well is the deepest in China, it will not hold the world record. This record belonged to the Russian Kola Superdeep Well, which reached a depth of 12,262 meters in 1989 after 20 years of drilling until a few years ago. Work had to be stopped in 1992, as the temperature reached 180 degrees Celsius, twice what was expected at that depth, and the facility was closed three years later. As of today, the record holder belongs to the Sakhalin-I well in Russia with a depth of 12,376 meters.