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| Why is China digging an 11 km deep hole in the ground? |
China has begun digging a trench more than 11 kilometers (11,100 feet) deep in the Taklamakan desert in its northwestern province of Xinjiang.
Work on this project was started last week.
According to a report by China's official news agency "Xin Wa", this deep crater will reach the layers of the Earth's oldest Cretaceous period. The estimated duration of the project is 457 days during which the operators working here will be busy day and night with heavy machinery.
An exciting move
The project is being touted as the largest mining project in China. Previously, the deepest well of its kind in China was recorded at 10,000 meters.
However, the hole dug by China will not be the deepest man-made hole. The record is held by the 'Kola' drilling well in Russia, which reached 12,262 meters (over 12 km) in 1989 after almost two decades of drilling, before being suspended.
The announcement of this major project by China comes at a time when the country is taking important steps to consolidate its position as a technological and scientific global power.
Interestingly, on the same day that work began on this new project, China sent three of its astronauts to the orbiting space station. Under he is trying to set foot on the moon before the year 2030.
But the question is, why is China digging such a deep pit, the depth of which is more than the total height of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest?
Two purposes
The project is being spearheaded by the state-owned petrochemical corporation 'Sinopec'. Recently, Sinopec has announced its goal of 'extending the depth limits' in geological exploration.
About two years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the country's scientific community to step up exploration of the Earth's deepest resources. And now the project has been launched almost two years after the Chinese President's directive to the scientific community.
Liu Xiaogang, the representative of China National Petroleum Corporation, the country's largest company working on oil and gas exploration in China, said that the drilling of this well has two purposes: scientific research and oil and gas exploration. '
It should be remembered that 'China National Petroleum Corporation is not only the largest company in China, but it is also one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
In a video message explaining the project, Liu Xiaogang assured that the project is part of efforts to consolidate and strengthen the technical capabilities of PetroChina (an enterprise controlled by China National Petroleum Corporation and registered on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange). I will help. He also said that the project will help in the production of new and modern mining machinery.
Speaking about the importance of this project, geologist Cristian Farias told the BBC that the world's scientific community usually uses seismic tomography and other techniques to study the deepest parts of the Earth. These types of projects are very useful as they provide physical evidence to support research.
Cristian Farias, who is also director of Civil Works and Geology at the Catholic University of Timoco, says the China project will provide an opportunity to test the most advanced equipment and technological advances ever made and to introduce something new to the world. New doors will open.
Gas and oil
The China National Petroleum Corporation has also indicated that the project also aims to find new, very deep oil and gas reserves in the region.
Hydrocarbon deposits at Earth's deepest depths, usually below 5,000 meters (or five kilometers depth), are usually located in marine areas, where rock and sedimentary layers are thicker, but sometimes Also found in terrestrial areas.
Taklamakan desert is said to be an area where large reserves of oil and natural gas can be found.
However, according to experts, the geological structure of this desert, such as extreme temperature and high pressure, may pose significant technical challenges while working on the project.
"It's a big challenge to maintain the existence of such a deep crater," says Professor Cristian Farias.
Although Russia has been able to penetrate the 12 km depth in the past, experts say that reaching such a low level of the Earth's crust can still be a very complicated matter.
Sun Jinsheng, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told state news agency Xinwa that "building this drilling project is like driving a big truck on two thin steel wires (meaning it's a very difficult project). will).'
In addition, the Taklamakan desert is considered a difficult area to work in, where the cold, temperature drops to minus 20 degrees Celsius, while in summer it reaches 40 degrees Celsius.