China Completes Drilling of Asia’s Deepest Well in Xinjiang Desert

China has drilled 10,910 meters underground, creating the deepest well in Asia, according to China’s state news agency, Xinhua, on Thursday.

The “Shenditake-1” well is located in the Tarim Basin in the Taklamakan Desert, in Xinjiang, western China.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) carried out the drilling as part of a scientific project to explore oil and gas deposits and advance research on Earth’s history and subsurface geology.

Drilling began on May 30, 2023, and lasted for more than 580 days. However, it reached a depth of over 10,000 meters at a faster rate than any other onshore drilling project.

The final 910 meters of drilling took about 300 days.