In the heart of the Taklamakán desert, in the Tarim basin, China has drilled direct access to the depths of the Earth. The Pozo Shendi Take-1, carried out by the Chinese state National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has become the second deepest vertical well in the world (much more than this underwater well that competes in another league), reaching the amazing number of 10,910 meters. If this perforation extended horizontally, its route would cover from the emblematic Kio towers in Madrid to Alcobendas, a journey that is much more understandable for our daily scale than the geological immensity to which this colossus of engineering has been entered.
Throughout the 580 days it took to complete the drilling, the last 910 meters required more than half of the total time, a reflection of the extreme challenge that represents drilling in the oldest and most compact layers of the Earth’s subsoil. This project not only has the objective of finding hydrocarbons in the depths of the earth’s crust, but also of unravel geological mysteries that have been sealed in rock formations of more than 540 million years.
The well It crosses several geological formationseach as a page of a millenary book written in stone. Among the strata found, rock witnesses belonging to the Precambrian are identified, a period that precedes the appearance of complex life on Earth. These samples provide very valuable information about the evolution of the earth’s crust, allowing scientists to reconstruct the geological history of the region.
The drilling of a well of such magnitude is not only a scientific feat, but also a colossal technical challenge. To do this, An innovative automated drilling capable of reaching 12,000 meters was usedthe first of its kind in the world. In addition, about 200 specialized tools were implemented to overcome the high temperatures and pressures that threaten to convert any operation into a technological odyssey.
In the Tarim Basin, the exploration of ultraprofundas formations (more than 6,000 meters) has been a challenge for geologists and oil companies, explains Jorge Navarro, professor of the Master of Petroleum and Gas Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Its complex failure system, its high pressures and extreme temperatures have made it difficult to evaluate their energy resources. However, with this new well, China takes a step forward in the exploration of hydrocarbons at great depths, opening a door to sites so far inaccessible.
Shendi Take-1 not only challenges technological limits, but also puts other great milestones in ultra-professional drilling. It is still behind the legendary Pozo Kola Superdeep Borehole (SG-3) in Russia, which with its 12,262 meters maintains the world record. This Soviet well, perforated between 1970 and 1992, was a purely scientific experiment, aimed at studying the deepest layers of the earth’s crust, while the Chinese well has a double purpose: energy research and exploration.
The comparison with the Kola well is not accidental. Both represent milestones in the understanding of the earth, although with different approaches. While the Russian project entered the subsoil without waiting for commercial benefits, the Chinese well combines science with The possibility of new oil depositss that could redefine the exploitation of energy resources in the 21st century.
The extreme conditions under which Shendi Take-1 has been drilled makes him a milestone. Temperatures in the depths of the well can exceed 200 degrees Celsius, and the pressure is hundreds of times greater than atmospheric at sea level. This means that any error or inaccuracy in the operation could have catastrophic consequences, making every perforated meter a victory over nature.
A window to the geological past
In addition to the exploration of hydrocarbons, this well will serve as a window to the geological past of the planet. When analyzing the samples extracted, scientists can obtain clues about the evolution of the earth’s crust and the tectonic dynamics that have modeled the Tarim region over millions of years. In a way, this drilling is like a time trip, in which each layer of rock tells a story about a geological period the history of the earth.
Beyond the technical feat, Shendi Take-1 raises questions about the future of deep drilling. To what extent can the human being drill in search of resources without altering geological balance? What are the physical and ethical limits of these explorations? While China opens a new chapter in extreme drillingthe debate on its environmental impact and its long -term viability remains open. Beijing has been looking for its energy independence for years through immense investments. For now, the result has been somewhat bittersweet, with many discoveries but without achieving independence anxiety, since it still imports more than 11 million barrels of oil every day.
This well is not only a symbol of China’s technological capacity, but also a sample of the growing competition in global energy exploration. With countries such as the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia competing for developing new exploration and production techniques, progress in deep drilling could radically transform the world’s energy map in the coming decades.
Thus, with Its 10,910 meters deep, the Chinese well is not only inscribed in the history of geological engineeringA, but becomes a metaphor of the human desire to always go a little further, for drilling the entrails of the planet in search of answers, resources and new challenges that allow us to better understand the world in which we live.
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