China begins drilling of ultra-deep oil well in Tarim Basin

China started drilling its first scientific exploration well with a depth of more than 10,000 meters in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Tuesday, operator China National Petroleum Corporation said.

In general, a well between 4,500 and 6,000 meters deep is defined as a deep well, while those between 6,000 and 9,000 meters are super-deep wells. Those that are more than 9,000 meters are ultra-deep wells.

The drilling of the Take-1 well in the Tarim Basin represents a major milestone in the country's exploration of deep energy resources that will further guarantee China's national energy security, the company said.

Located near the Fuman oilfield area, a main crude oil block located in the Tarim oilfield, the well, with a designed depth of 11,100 meters, shows China's deep earth drilling technology has entered the forefront of the world, it said.

According to CNPC, the drilling of ultra-deep wells is the most challenging in oil and gas engineering. The well in Xinjiang will use the world's first automated drilling rig that is capable to reach 12,000 meters deep, independently developed by China.