Posted on 08/06/2025 8:45:46 AM PDT by Red Badger
China is drilling one of the deepest holes ever attempted—down to 10,000 meters—through layers of Earth’s crust untouched for millions of years.
In one of the world’s most ambitious geoscience projects to date, Chinese engineers have begun drilling a 10,000-meter vertical borehole into the Earth’s crust. The operation, launched in May 2024, is located in the Tarim Basin, a desert region in northwest China’s Xinjiang province, known for its rich oil deposits and extreme climate.
The goal isn’t just depth for depth’s sake. According to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, the team is aiming to pass through more than 10 layers of continental rock and reach the Cretaceous geological system, dating back 145 million years. That’s not just a time capsule—they’re hoping to uncover fossil fuel resources, better understand seismic activity, and deepen the world’s knowledge of Earth’s geological history.
The project is led by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and is expected to take roughly 450 to 457 days to complete. The final depth will reach 11,100 meters, just shy of the record set by the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, which topped out at 12,262 meters in the early 1990s.
Why China Wants to Dig Into the Cretaceous
What makes this effort particularly notable is the depth China is targeting. By reaching the Cretaceous layer, scientists hope to gain access to ancient sedimentary records—natural archives that can offer insight into climate shifts, tectonic plate movement, and the formation of oil and gas deposits.
11,000 Metre Drilling Project - Chinese state media has described the 11,000-metre drilling project as a ‘landmark in China’s deep-Earth exploration’. Photograph: Xinhua/Li Xiang/EPA
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Wang Chunsheng, a technical expert cited by Chinese media, described the operation as a “bold attempt to explore the unknown territory of the Earth.” He and others involved in the drilling believe the borehole could provide high-resolution data on the Earth’s crust and improve models used in earthquake prediction and resource management.
The Tarim Basin is already known for being rich in oil and gas, with Sinopec, China’s largest refiner, recently reporting flows from 8,500 meters below the surface. Drilling even deeper could uncover more untapped reserves, making this both a scientific and economic venture.
Extreme Engineering for Extreme Conditions
Drilling this far down isn’t just a matter of time—it’s a test of materials and machinery. Temperatures inside the borehole are expected to reach up to 200°C (392°F), and the pressure is estimated at 1,300 times that of Earth’s surface. The machinery—over 2,000 tonnes of equipment—must endure constant mechanical stress, rock instability, and rising heat as it bores deeper.
Sun Jinsheng, a geoscientist at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, offered a striking comparison: “The construction difficulty of the drilling project can be compared to a big truck driving on two thin steel cables.”
GLOBALink | China starts drilling superdeep borehole in landmark deep-Earth exploration
VIDEO AT LINK......................
This level of challenge isn’t new. The Kola Superdeep Borehole, once the deepest on Earth, faced repeated mechanical failures and unexpected findings. In that project, scientists discovered water in rock layers once thought dry and even found microscopic plankton fossils at 6,000 meters. These surprises highlight just how much remains unknown under our feet—and why China’s project could lead to equally significant discoveries.
A Global Race to Go Deeper, Learn More
While this project is the deepest ever attempted in China, it’s part of a broader global trend of using deep-earth exploration to understand both our planet’s past and future. From oil exploration to climate science, deep drilling offers unique insights unavailable through surface studies or seismic imaging alone.
At the same time, it aligns with a larger policy goal outlined by President Xi Jinping, who in 2021 called for breakthroughs in frontier technologies, including deep-Earth science and space exploration. With recent Chinese missions targeting the Moon, Mars, and asteroid samples, this new drill underscores China’s dual push to explore both outward and inward—toward the cosmos and the Earth’s core.
The outcome of the drill—expected sometime in late 2025—may help clarify long-standing debates in geology. But even if the project doesn’t hit every target, it will almost certainly produce high-value data and push the limits of what’s technically possible in extreme drilling environments.
Yes, I’m ancient. It figured in a science project I did in the 1960s.
You said oil. Condensate ain’t oil. It is a gas in the reservoir. Rarely does it fetch the same price.
It did when I was in the business, a few decades ago. Maybe its different now.
Back then we called it white oil. In 1980, we were getting close to $10 per mcf and $80 per Bbl of crude. So the bigger fields were capable of enormous production. The biggest field was drilled and developed by GHK Petroleum. I worked with Bobby Hefner, who sold the idea of ‘deep gas prices’ to Jimmy Carter. We always knew there was a bunch of gas down deep, but at $.35 per mcf, it was uneconomic.
It depends on the area and if there is a refinery that can use it. It usually fetches around 80% of the crude oil price. But nonetheless, it is more valuable than the worthless natural gas. The problem is that the deeper you go, the leaner the gas. We drilled a well a few years ago down around 16,000’. It made 20 MMCFG a day. 94% methane and 6% CO2.
NGL’s trade at 40-60% of the price of crude oil. Rich gas is always preferred to dry gas, unless you can’t separate them into “white oil.”
EarEarth’s outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) thick, composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core.
The inner core’s intense pressure—the entire rest of the planet—prevents the iron from melting. The pressure and density are simply too great for the iron atoms to move into a liquid state.Jun 11, 2024
What caught your attention first...The creatures or the woman?
Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that dogs that do these types of things are bored due to lack of having a job and are burning off excess energy.
They can just go to places like the Grand Canyon if they want to see old rock layers.
Google AI search results: They are about 1.84 billion years old. The youngest rock layers, forming the canyon’s rim, are about 270 million years old
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Grand_Canyon_area
The commies have plenty of Cretaceous rocks. They don’t have to drill so deep. I guess they have NGO’s too and waste lots of money.
Google: Cretaceous rocks are found where in china
FTA: the team is aiming to pass through more than 10 layers of continental rock and reach the Cretaceous geological system, dating back 145 million years.
Sounds like the beginning of a low grade sci-fi movie...
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