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
=====================================================================
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.
Unless you are in a cool basin like South Louisiana, oil doesn’t make it past 12,000’.
We are not pebble puppies. We are trained scientists. But if you insist on poking fun at us, we prefer geolopher.
Oil in the Gulf of America is all about the geothermal gradient. Much of the gulf coast is much cooler than similar depths than say the Anadarko Basin, which has lingering at those depths for 200-300 million years. The sediments in the gulf could be as “young” as 1-5 million years.
Obviously it was due to the use of Protomatter. An unstable substance which every ethical scientist in the galaxy has denounced as dangerously unpredictable.
“Well, well, well. That is a mighty ambitious project and I can not even imagine what that drill bit is made of.”
Having done a lot of drilling, they will pull up the drill steel and change the head as needed. That is why it takes so long...
They have to put it down and drill for awhile and then pull it all back out then repeat over and over until they get to the targeted depth. It is monotonous...
Morlock protest in 3-2-1...
Dunno, but at that temperature, any complex hydrocarbons would probably be baked. Lucky to get ethane.
We’ve had a very few deep (5 mile) wells tried in Texas during high nat gas price periods with mixed results.
Aside from the expense of the well itself, the quality of the hydrocarbons was extremely poor due to high (400F) temps.
Steel with diamond chips, replaced often.
10,000-meter vertical borehole sounds like a starter kit for earthquakes?.
Lets drop a Bunker Buster down it and see what happens!.............................
How will the tree huggers explain “fossil” fuels that deep?
My first thought was the Moholes drilled (fictitiously) in the trilogy Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars. Kilometer wide X kilometers deep to aid in terraforming Mars by releasing heat from the depth of Mars.
Get on it, Musk.
What the heck was the name of the Russian woman from early in the first book...the boss construction engineer?
Agree
The mantle is not molten at 25 miles depth. The pressure keeps it solid. Also, molten material under the surface is referred to as magma; lava is the word used for magma that has erupted onto the surface via a volcanic vent.
I have seen significant condensate at 17,000 in deep Oklahoma. Of course it was associated liquids with gas, but the price per bbl was the same as oil. I have witnessed 25 MMCF per day with 1500 BC per day. It is what was rewarded by Jimmy Carter with his deep gas allowances (greater than 15,000’). It saved our butts in the early 80’s and led to a drilling boom, which became a bust, of course.
They’re going to release a Balrog, wait and see.
Whatever happened to Project Mohole?
***
You have to be ancient to remember that.
I read about the Mohole when in elementary school.
Bkmk
I doubt that they are planning on bringing the bore logs up to the surface as they would take considerable time inserting and extracting the bore tube
😊 It was a long time ago. Like most things seem to be getting. 😉
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.