The largest oil and gas producer in China has announced that the Pengshen-6 oil well has reached a depth of 9,026 meters, making it the deepest vertical well on the continent.
The Pengshen-6 oil well is located in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. (Photo: CGTN).
This record-setting vertical well is situated in Sichuan Province in southwestern China. The construction faced numerous challenges due to extremely complex geological conditions, as the well traverses over ten different strata. Consequently, the construction workers had to contend with high temperatures, pressures, and sulfur concentrations, as reported by Interesting Engineering on February 17.
Ma Yong, the deputy director of the technical engineering department at PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gasfield, stated that the new well will support ultra-deep oil and gas exploration and lay the groundwork for a 10,000-meter scientific exploration well program set to commence in 2023.
The well was drilled by a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation in July 2021. The initial design plan aimed for a depth of 7,990 meters. However, to explore more oil and gas reserves in deep strata, the final drilling depth was increased to 9,026 meters.
The construction project has been likened to “Mount Everest underground.” According to Yong, this depth is a record for the deepest vertical well in Asia, providing a solid technical foundation for ultra-deep oil and gas exploration in China.
Since 2011, PetroChina has drilled eight wells deeper than 8,000 meters and two wells deeper than 9,000 meters. One of these wells, named Shuangyu 001-H6, located in the Sichuan Basin, has a depth of 9,000 meters, setting the record for the deepest onshore gas extraction well in China.
