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While Brazilian pre-salt platforms operate with columns up to 7,000 meters between the water depth and the reservoir, Chinese engineers from CNPC completed the drilling of the Shenditake 1 well on February 20, 2025.
According to official records, the column reached 10,910 meters beneath the Taklimakan Desert, in Xinjiang Province.
According to a PetroChina statement released by the Global Times, it is the world’s first onshore well to exceed 10 km. The achievement confirmed commercial reserves below this limit.
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Indeed, for decades, oil executives considered this frontier economically unfeasible. Extreme pressures and temperatures destroyed equipment before any return in sustained production.
The operation began on May 30, 2023. It took 279 days to reach 10,000 meters — according to official data compiled by World Energy.
According to CNPC, there were 632 days of uninterrupted drilling. Nearly 21 months operating equipment under temperatures and pressures that destroy conventional components.
Therefore, the last kilometer took longer than the entire first phase. Engineering had to change drill bits, adjust fluids, and react to unexpected rock fractures under 145 megapascals.
Seven Simultaneous Global Records at Shenditake 1 Well
In addition to the absolute depth, the operation established seven simultaneous milestones. Each expanded the technical frontier in a different industry discipline.
- World’s deepest liner cementing — column sealing at 10,910 meters
- World’s deepest image logging — real-time petrophysical analysis
- Fastest onshore drilling above 10,000 meters — 279 days to the mark
- Deepest tail pipe cementing — extreme casing fixation
- Asia’s deepest core sampling — intact rock collection
- Asia’s deepest wireline logging — geophysical scanning
- First oil and gas discovery below 10 km onshore
Furthermore, the team penetrated 12 distinct geological formations of the Tarim Basin. The result was the first continuous 10,000-meter geological profile ever surveyed on Asian soil.
“This profile is the first direct window into the deep sedimentary structure of the basin,” stated Wang Chunsheng, CNPC’s chief engineer, to the People’s Daily.
The First Automated 12,000-Meter Rig Ever Built
To achieve this depth, CNPC developed the world’s first automated 12,000-meter onshore rig. The equipment was designed for extreme geothermal gradients.
According to the South China Morning Post, the temperature at the bottom of the well exceeds 210 degrees Celsius. That’s enough heat to vaporize cooking oil.
At the same time, the pressure exceeds 145 megapascals. For comparison, the Mariana Trench records about 110 megapascals — significantly less than the bottom of the Chinese well.
Therefore, the operation takes place under conditions more severe than the deepest known ocean floor. Each metal component must withstand stresses beyond conventional catalogs.
Why the Tarim Basin Became a Laboratory for Ultra-Deep Exploration
The Tarim Basin is one of the most complex sedimentary regions in the world. Encrusted in Xinjiang Province, it combines ancient carbonate deposits and massive sedimentary overburden.
Indeed, the region holds estimated reserves of billions of cubic meters of gas. There are still unexplored horizons below 8,000 meters, according to PetroChina.
In March 2024, the company had announced breaking the 10,000-meter barrier with a previous well. The project identified the first gas reserve beyond 10 km.
This previous well, reported by the Global Times, did not yield oil. Only natural gas was found in that reserve.
Thus, the 2025 achievement closed the window: it confirmed that commercial hydrocarbons — not just gas — exist in ultra-deep horizons of the basin.
What the Discovery Means for Brazilian Pre-Salt
According to Petrobras data, the pre-salt operates between 5,000 and 7,000 vertical meters. This includes water depth, post-salt, and the salt layer.
The difference, however, lies in onshore versus offshore. Brazil does not yet have a comparable onshore operation in complexity.
Similarly, EIA projections for South American oil do not foresee ultra-deep onshore fields in the short term.
On the other hand, Chinese high-temperature wellhead technologies could be licensed for deeper Brazilian fields. Currently, Petrobras imports equipment from Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes.
As a result, the entry of Chinese suppliers into the market could put pressure on prices and expand technological options for the Brazilian offshore fleet.
Shenditake 1’s Next Target: Surpassing Kola’s 12,000 Meters
China has already announced plans to drill a 12,000-meter well. This milestone would surpass the absolute world record, set by the Soviet Kola Superdeep Borehole, which stopped at 12,262 meters in 1992 due to technical limitations.
According to CNPC, the current equipment was designed precisely for this target. The difference is that Kola was exclusively scientific, with no commercial production.
Therefore, the next Chinese well, if it replicates the methodology, could inaugurate the first super-deep commercial-scale reserve in oil history.
According to a report from the Chinese State Council Information Office, He Jiangchuan, vice president of PetroChina, stated: “The discovery validates that commercial reservoirs exist even at the most extreme depths.”
Caveats and What CNPC Has Not Yet Disclosed
However, PetroChina has not disclosed estimated commercial volumes of the reserves found. The timeline for the start of large-scale production has also not been made public.
Nevertheless, independent experts consulted by ScienceDirect warn that reservoirs under such extreme conditions require prolonged testing.
The discovery confirms oil and gas there, but it is not yet known how long the window will remain commercial.
However, monitoring over the next 12 months, when CNPC is expected to disclose sustained production, will tell whether the achievement inaugurates a new era or remains an isolated accomplishment.
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