A well-known oil company (CNPC) in China is drilling a 10,000-metre hole that will be the deepest in the world. Currently, China is drilling its deepest borehole in order to study regions deep beneath the surface of the earth. According to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, drilling of the borehole began on Tuesday in the Tarim basin in Xinjiang’s north-western desert. This hole is more than 10 times the size of the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa.
Why China is Drilling Deepest Hole into Earth?
The purpose of the drilling project in the country’s oil-rich Xinjiang region is to tap into the Earth. And to explore more about Earth’s Energy resources and to find more unearthing-rich minerals. It will also help to explore 145 million year old rocks. This project will also help in researching Geothermal Energy and gathering data on the Earth’s internal structure. Geothermal energy is a renewable source of energy that can be used to generate electricity, heat buildings, and power industrial processes. By drilling to a depth of 10,000 meters, China hopes to access geothermal resources that are deeper and hotter than those currently used for geothermal energy production.
CNPC, the country’s largest oil and gas producer company which led the project, said in a statement that the deep exploration well will enable scientists to study the internal structure, and evolution of the Earth and will also help in gathering data for geoscience research purposes. And China also stated that this drilling is to evaluate the risks of environmental disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
As Russia dug the deepest well of the coal (Kola Superdeep Borehole). So it is a type of race between the superpowers to drill as deep as possible in the Earth’s crust, and even reach the planet’s core. The Japanese and Americans tried it, now China is giving them a competition.
How Is it Possible To Carry Out The Drilling?
The drill has been designed according to the depth of 11,000 meters. The weight of the equipment which will be used in this drilling machine is of 2,000 tonnes. It will penetrate into the 10 layers of the rock which we in the language of Geology called as “STRATA”. A lot of disruptions can come during the hole process as the earth’s interior surface is so hard and made up of different types of rocks.
Does It Pose Any Threat To Our Planet?
After 10 years of drilling boreholes into both seafloor and continental crust, back in 2018. After taking a number of samples from different sites around the world The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) scientists stated that “There Is A Colossal Cornucopia Of Exotic Life Hiding Within Earth’s Crust”. Microbiology says about Exotic life that the organisms that thrive in extreme conditions, such as deep within the Earth’s crust, are called “extremophiles”. One example of such extremophiles is the deep subsurface microbes, also known as “deep life.” In addition to microbes, other organisms such as fungi, archaea, and even multicellular organisms like nematodes have been discovered in the deep subsurface. So, some people think that this drilling in deep can result in the spreading of new viruses which can cause new diseases.
In How Much Time Will China Deep Hole Will Project Complete?
The drilling project in the Taklamakan Desert is a complex and challenging undertaking that will likely take several years to complete. Factors such as the depth of the borehole, the type of rock formations encountered, and the drilling technology used can all affect the timeline for completion. It’s important to note that drilling projects of this nature can be unpredictable and subject to delays due to a variety of factors such as weather conditions, equipment malfunctions, and geological challenges. Therefore, any estimated timeline the company provides may be subject to change. Drilling company gives an estimated time of 457 days.
Conclusion:
According to my opinion, we have to see it from both angles. either from a positive way or a negative side. China is drilling a 10,000-meter deep hole can lead us to a new discovery. After the completion of this project, it can be useful in using the Geothermal energy of the earth. But on the other hand, It can also lead us to some unknown tragedy. As China made the world’s largest dam for its benefit but it slowed down the rotation of the earth by 0.06 microseconds. Currently, Currently, we are not taking this slow rotation seriously but in the future may be it can result in danger. But as exploration is in human blood so heritage continues.
