China's self-developed automated drilling rig sinks Asia's deepest vertical well

China's self-developed 12,000-meter automated drilling rig, the first of its kind the world, facilitated the drilling of the deepest vertical well in Asia, which is also the second deepest in the world.

Located in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the well, known as "Shenditake 1," was completed in Feburary, with a borehole reaching a depth of 10,910 meters.

Developed by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the 82-meter high automated drilling rig is equipped with a 6,000-horsepower drilling winch, the country's largest, realizing 900 tons of load capacity.

"Our self-developed super-large load lifting system can easily meet the ultra-deep and overweight challenges faced by ultra-deep well drilling. In addition, we have independently developed an intelligent control system of the rig, equipped with a full set of automatic wellhead operation equipment and other advanced equipment, thus realizing automatic and intelligent drilling operations," said Li Yahui, chief designer of the "Shenditake 1" drilling rig.

The rig is equipped with an automated string handling system, allowing the drill pipe to lift or drill down freely thanks to the collaboration of robotic arms and intelligent algorithms.

In addition, the rig's monitoring system can transmit 48 key parameters such as downhole temperature and pressure in real time, providing accurate data support for the decision-making system.

"The drilling rig has overcome the bottlenecks of core components such as 900 tons of load capacity and 70MPa ultra-high pressure drilling fluid circulation system, promoting the lifting capacity and drilling fluid pumping capacity to make major strides, and realizing the autonomous control of the entire process of high-end drilling rig design and manufacturing," said Sun Jinsheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Drilling began on May 30, 2023. It took over 580 days to complete the 10,910-meter drilling, with more than half of the time -- some 300 days --- spent on the final 910 meters, according to CNPC.

Beyond oil and gas exploration, "Shenditake 1" has provided Asia's first 10,000-meter-deep core samples, offering invaluable data for fundamental research in geology, geochemistry and geothermal studies

China's self-developed automated drilling rig sinks Asia's deepest vertical well

Germany's fragile economic recovery is at risk amid the surging energy costs linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict, which will potentially trigger another recession, said Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).

Fratzscher made the comments in a recent interview with the China Media Group (CMG) following the release of the institute's spring 2026 growth forecast for Germany.

"We are cautiously optimistic of the German economy this year. We see a clear recovery in growth, with 1.0 percent of growth expected this year and 1.4 percent next year. For Germany, these are respectable growth figures. But our great concern is the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran, which could hit German industry hard through higher energy costs and rising inflation. In an extreme scenario, if the war escalates further, this could mean another recession for Germany's economy," he warned.

Fratzscher identified U.S. tariff policies and geopolitical tensions as key uncertainties for German growth, stressing that for Germany and Europe, the fate of the Strait of Hormuz matters more than the duration of the conflict.

"For the economic impact on Germany and Europe, how long the war lasts is less important than what happens with the Strait of Hormuz. Will it be reopened and remain permanently open for oil and gas exports? If that succeeds, we assume prices could fall relatively quickly, meaning we won't continue to see the high prices for oil and gas that we have now. That would be a significant relief for the European economy and also for Germany," he said.

The ongoing tensions in the Middle East have already pushed up fuel prices in Germany. As Europe's largest economy, Germany's manufacturing sector relies heavily on stable energy supplies. Persistent high energy costs risk slowing business investment and consumer spending, potentially undermining Germany's fragile economic recovery.

Germany's fragile economic recovery at risk amid Middle East tensions: senior economist