China is drilling one of the deepest wells in the world, more than 10,000 meters deep

China is now attacking its basements. Beijing started drilling a hole on May 30 with a planned depth of 11,000 meters, it was reported on June 6. Watchman Quoting the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. According to the English newspaper, the stated goal of such a well before China National Petroleum Corporation – one of the major Chinese oil producers who heads this project – he “To study the internal structure and evolution of the Earth, and to provide data for geological research“.

This dig is located in northwestern China, in the desert of the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang), according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The well will join the Earth’s crust, passing through 10 continental layers. It will allow access to rocks that are 145 million years old. Chinese state media praised “A milestone in China’s exploration of the depths of the earth». The project should last exactly 457 days.

“The difficulty of constructing the drilling project can be compared to a large truck traveling on two thin steel cablesSun Jinsheng, a scientist with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told Xinhua in particular in remarks reported by the Chinese news agency. guardian. The equipment Beijing is using to drill the well will weigh more than 2,000 tons and will be able to withstand atmospheric pressure 1,300 times greater than the surface of the earth.

energy independence

According to Chinese officials, the goal here is twofold: economic and scientific. On the one hand, Beijing seeks to project its energy independence in terms of oil and gas, in a region known for its oil reserves. This is in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s desire to “Strengthening the national energy supply, prompting the Chinese energy giants to search for natural resources“, notice guardian.

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On the other hand, China hopes to collect scientific data. according to bloombergSuch a project could make it possible to identify energy and mineral resources as wellRisk assessment of environmental disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions». However, CNRS geophysicist and director of research Christophe Viene has been interviewed before Parisian estimated thatScientific interest is very low” since “Earthquakes often occur more than 10 km below the surface». The area chosen for drilling will similarly show seismic and volcanic activity.Somewhat weak»And According to this same specialist.

However, it will not be the deepest man-made hole in the world. That title still goes to the Kola Craters in northwest Russia, whose drilling stretched from the 1970s to 1989. This drops to 12,262 metres.