China's first oilrig capable of drilling to a depth of 9,000
meters will be put to the test in the northwestern Karamay oil
field this June, according to sources with China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC), China's biggest oil producer, on Monday.
The China-made drilling rig, which contains numerous patented
parts, breaks the country's dependency on foreign rigs and will
upgrade China's capacity to explore for oil and gas both offshore
and on land, said Luo Chao, deputy chief engineer of China
Petroleum Material and Equipment Corporation (CPMEC), a specialized
service company fully owned by CNPC.
The drilling rig is being developed by Shaanxi-based Baoji Petroleum Machinery Co
Ltd, China's biggest research and manufacturing base for drilling
rigs owned by CPMEC.
According to the company, research has been completed on
China-made drill rigs that can bore to a depth of 12,000
meters.
Soaring oil prices have encouraged a bigger inflow of money to
oil and natural gas exploration.
(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2006)