The drilling of Shenditake 1 commenced on May 30, 2023, and concluded after more than 580 days of continuous work. Handelsblatt reports that this achievement makes it the fastest land-based drilling operation to exceed a depth of 10,000 meters. The final 910 meters presented challenges, taking approximately 300 days to complete due to the geological conditions encountered at such depths.
Under the leadership of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the project demonstrated China's expertise in drilling technology. Süddeutsche Zeitung notes that CNPC developed the world's first automated drilling rig capable of reaching depths of up to 12,000 meters for this endeavor.
At its deepest point, the drilling operation penetrated rock layers that are more than 500 million years old.
Shenditake 1 now stands as the world's second deepest drilling well. n-tv reports that the deepest borehole remains the Kola Superdeep Borehole, located on the Kola Peninsula near Russia's border with Norway, which reaches a depth of 12,262 meters.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.