China has seen another technological breakthrough at an ultra-deep well on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by setting a new daily drilling record of 2,006 meters in a single day, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Wednesday.
The announcement came as drilling work was completed at the "Ha 13-H9" well in the Tarim Oilfield, located in Shaya County of Aksu Prefecture, reaching a final depth of 7,341 meters, with the daily record being achieved earlier during the drilling process at this site.
More than 120 cities in 15 provincial-level regions across China have been benefited by the natural gas supplied by the CNPC's Tarim Oilfield and staff say the increased drilling speed helps vastly improve overall efficiency of operations.
"Two years of technological research have reduced the drilling time for this block from 138.76 days in 2022 to 120.4 days in 2023. This means we can save 18 days when drilling an 8,000-meter well," said Zou Bo, a CNPC staff member.
The record is attributed to the considerable developments made in key technical equipment, including high-strength drill pipes, high-temperature-proof drilling fluid that can withstand heat of up to 220 degrees Celsius, and state-of-art logging tools capable of operating thousands of meters below the surface level.
These advancements have provided essential technical support for developing deep-earth oil and gas exploration in China.
"We have developed a domestic 175 Mpa gas wellhead equipment with a casing head, allowing us to address the challenges of exploring and developing ultra-deep gas. This significantly reduces our dependence on foreign equipment and lowers production costs," said Zhang Bao, director of the Oil and Gas Extraction Department at the CNPC Tarim Oilfield branch.
Chinese drilling technology digs record-breaking 2,000 meters in single day
Chinese drilling technology digs record-breaking 2,000 meters in single day
The targeting of Lebanese citizens in simultaneous pager explosions in the Arab state has provoked rapid and widespread international condemnation and marked an extremely concerning escalation in the Middle East.
At least nine people were killed, and over 2,800 others, including Hezbollah members, were wounded on Tuesday in different areas of Lebanon as their pagers exploded, said Hezbollah officials.
Elnashra news website reported that the son of Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar was among those killed, and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among the injured.
Israeli military targeted the batteries of these pagers, leading to their explosions, said the report, adding the injured were being transferred to hospitals.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it is conducting security and scientific investigations to identify the reasons behind these explosions, adding that the group is "at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its people."
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said they deeply regretted any civilian deaths. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the current UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, expressed in a statement that the attack "marked an extremely concerning escalation" in the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday strongly condemned the "terrorist action by Israel," and expressed solidarity and extended condolences to Lebanon, voicing Iran's readiness to provide assistance to treat the injured or transfer them to Tehran.
On the same day, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also noted the country's readiness to provide any necessary medical assistance to the Lebanese and emphasized the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East.
In addition, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated his warning of the potential for escalating regional conflict into a full-scale regional war in the Middle East.
During a press briefing at the State Department on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S was not involved in the incidents and did not know who was responsible. He also stressed that civilians must never be the target of military operations.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah once again issued a statement regarding the pager explosions that occurred on the Sept 17, extending condolences to the victims and their families. According to the statement, Hezbollah pledged to retaliate against Israel and planned to launch military operations on Israeli targets as usual on the Sept 18.
Deadly pager blasts in Lebanon provoke widespread condemnation
