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Our reporter Liu Yiqing

"Crust No. 1" is carrying out the "Songliao Basin International Continental Scientific Drilling Project". Photo courtesy of Jilin University

Opening words

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has thoroughly promoted the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, put forward the strategic task of accelerating the construction of an innovative country, established the goal of building a strong country in science and technology by 2035, continuously deepened the reform of the science and technology system, fully stimulated the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of scientific and technological personnel, and vigorously promoted scientific and technological self-reliance. my country's science and technology undertakings have achieved historic achievements and undergone historic changes.

"Chang'e" reaches the moon, "Tianhe" stays in space, "Tianwen" explores Mars, "Crust-1" advances into the depths of the earth, and "Struggler" explores the deep sea of ​​10,000 meters... China's modernization must be supported by the modernization of science and technology, and the realization of high-quality development must rely on scientific and technological innovation to cultivate new momentum. Starting today, this newspaper has launched the "Innovation Stories Behind Hard-core Technology" column. Reporters go deep into the front line, explore hard-core technology, tell innovation stories, focus on the latest deployment of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, feel the new industries, new models, and new momentum spawned by scientific and technological innovation, and show the spirit of the majority of scientific and technological workers who are hardworking and actively engaged in the cause of scientific and technological innovation.

In the heart of the Taklamakan Desert, the "Crust No. 1" drill roared, and an 8,795-meter-deep oil and gas drilling was about to be successfully completed.

"It's difficult to drill a well deeper than 8,000 meters." Fan Yueshuai, a teacher at the School of Construction Engineering of Jilin University, looked at the drilling rig in front of him and explained: "It takes at least half a year for a general oil drilling rig to drill an oil well 5,000 to 6,000 meters deep, but here at 'Crust No. 1', this well can be completed in 95 days."

From the past drilling depth of five or six thousand meters to today's more than 8,000 meters;

The drilling time used to be at least half a year, but now it is about three months;

From being unattainable in the past to setting new records for continental scientific drilling conducted by Asian countries;

How did the "Crust No. 1", a self-developed scientific ultra-deep well surface drilling rig with a height of 60 meters, an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters and a drilling depth of 10,000 meters, come into being? The reporter visited it.

Facing challenges again and again——

Overcoming difficulties and filling gaps in scientific research

At midnight on April 13, 2014, "Crust No. 1" started drilling at the "Songke 2 Well" in Anda, Daqing, Heilongjiang.

In the winter of 2015, at the drilling site of "Songke 2 Well", Wang Qingyan, deputy chief designer of "Crust No. 1" and professor of the School of Construction Engineering of Jilin University, was standing under "Crust No. 1" with several key scientific research personnel. They paced anxiously and looked up at the derrick on the second-floor platform of the drilling rig and the automatic pipe laying machine that had not yet been installed.

The task that could have been completed in one or two hours took more than three hours in the cold sky because the derrick workers were not familiar with the equipment. It was almost dark, so what should they do? Wang Qingyan ignored the dissuasion and personally went to the installation point through the cage from the lower part of the second-floor platform.

"The crane carried Professor Wang to a height of 40 meters, which is equivalent to more than ten floors. It was freezing cold and the wind was howling. The cage was shaking and we were sweating profusely." said Professor Gao Ke, director of the Petroleum Engineering Department of the School of Construction Engineering of Jilin University, who participated in the development of the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter drilling rig throughout the process.

Just before the sun set, the pipe laying machine interface was finally connected. "After safely reaching the ground, Professor Wang said frankly: How could I not be scared? I am afraid of heights and my legs are weak. But in order to quickly solve the problem, I have to go up there myself," Gao Ke recalled.

There are countless similar stories. At the beginning of the project, in order to come up with a design plan as soon as possible, Professor Sun Youhong, the chief designer of "Crust No. 1", often discussed with everyone until late at night. In 2013, at the production enterprise Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co., Ltd., in order to speed up the research and development progress, researchers rode tricycles, carrying "Crust No. 1" components, and traveled back and forth between the production, quality inspection, and commissioning plants three or four kilometers apart. In October 2013, more than 50 large trailer trucks loaded with the disassembled "Crust No. 1" were transported from its "birthplace" Guanghan, Sichuan to the location of "Songke 2 Well" in Daqing, Heilongjiang. The entire journey was 3,456.7 kilometers. Sun Youhong followed the convoy and directed the transportation throughout the journey...

The key technologies and equipment independently developed have become the core of the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter drilling rig. The R&D team has overcome three major technical difficulties, including low pressure control accuracy of deep drilling drill bits, low rotation speed of deep drilling equipment turntables, and low automation of equipment, and has made breakthroughs in a number of key technologies, including high-speed full-hydraulic top drive drilling, high-precision automatic pipe swinging, and high-speed automatic unscrewing and unloading of drill pipe columns.

During the acceptance and evaluation, the expert group spoke highly of the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter drilling rig: the whole machine has a high degree of integration, a high degree of automation, and stable operation. It fills the gap in my country's ultra-deep hole scientific drilling rigs and comprehensively improves the design and processing level of my country's drilling rigs and key components.

On the evening of June 23, the Tailai Street Practical Teaching Base of the School of Construction Engineering of Jilin University was brightly lit.

The several-meter-long drilling rig prototype is working. Unlike the traditional drilling rig with a single drill bit, it has two drill bits that rotate in different directions, which can achieve dynamic self-balancing of torque. Gao Ke and his colleagues took students to record data.

"This is our original bionic self-balancing drilling tool. This drilling technology can be carried out smoothly without relying on drilling rigs and drill rods. It can ensure the quality of drilling and reduce energy loss, especially in deep drilling. The effect is more obvious." Gao Ke introduced. At present, this research has been authorized with more than 40 invention patents and 5 software copyrights.

Scientific research breakthroughs one by one——

Independent innovation to explore the mysteries of the deep earth

"Going up to the sky, into the earth, down to the sea, and ascending to the summit" carries the great feat of mankind's exploration of nature.

Due to the extreme conditions such as high temperature, high pressure and high ground stress deep in the Earth, humans know very little about the "inner core" of the planet on which they stand.

Digging deep from the surface, the history of the Earth's evolution is recorded in layers of rocks. Drilling a scientific well and obtaining cylindrical cores is like taking a "minimally invasive slice" of the mysterious deep Earth.

Scientific drilling is the only means to obtain physical information deep inside the Earth, and obtaining continuous and complete rock cores is one of the important scientific research missions of "Crust No. 1".

In order to meet the great needs of the deep earth exploration project, the China Geological Survey launched the "Deep Exploration Technology and Experimental Research Special Project", one of which is the "Development and Experiment of Key Instruments and Equipment for Deep Exploration", which is headed by Huang Danian, a "model of the times", the late professor and doctoral supervisor of Jilin University. One of the topics in the project is to develop the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter scientific drilling rig.

In 2018, at the Songke 2 Well site, the "Crust No. 1" drilled to a depth of 7,018 meters in the crust and successfully extracted a continuous and complete core with a total length of 4,014 meters. So far, my country's major drilling equipment research and development support has created a new record for continental scientific drilling implemented by Asian countries, making it the third country in the world to master the ability to drill scientific ultra-deep wells 10,000 meters underground.

Gao Ke still remembers it vividly: "The colors and compositions of rock layers at different depths are different, yellow sandstone, black mudstone... They record the changes and evolution of the earth's interior."

Through analysis and research on the mineral composition, sedimentary structure, and isotope measurements of the core, geological scientists have restored the Cretaceous climate and biological survival scenarios, directly proving the correctness of various current hypotheses about mass extinction of species.

In addition to terrestrial climate research, through the "Crust No. 1", scholars have also seen ways to combine science and industry. "Songke 2 Well" is located in the Songliao Basin, one of the most important oil and gas basins in my country. During the drilling process, researchers discovered a 102-meter-thick shale gas layer under the Songliao Basin, in which the average methane content reached 86%. At a depth of 4,400 to 7,018 meters, basin-type hot dry rock formations with development conditions were found, which can provide stable and clean geothermal energy.

Well after well is put into production——

Combining production and research to boost industrial development

On July 4, the "Crust No. 1" was busy in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert. "It took 95 days to drill the "Crust No. 1" this time, and the highest drilling depth in a single day reached 1.6 kilometers, which was very helpful in saving costs and increasing efficiency." Fan Yueshuai, who had just returned from the drilling site, said.

In order to accelerate the exploration and development strategy of my country's oil and gas resources, the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter drilling rig, after successfully completing the "Songke 2 Well" mission, went to the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang in May 2019 to start ultra-deep oil and gas drilling engineering tasks. So far, the "Crust No. 1" 10,000-meter drilling rig has completed 6 wells with a depth of more than 8,000 meters and 1 well with a depth of more than 9,000 meters.

"Oil and gas were produced from all seven wells," Gao Ke said proudly. "During the five years in Xinjiang, the 'Crust No. 1' has performed excellently without any major technical problems. It is expected that next year, the 'Crust No. 1' will return to its 'birthplace' for a comprehensive maintenance and overhaul."

The "birthplace" mentioned by Gaoke is Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co., Ltd.

In August 2023, Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co., Ltd. held a press conference to launch the Smart Drilling Rig 1.0 prototype. This is an intelligent commercial oil drilling equipment launched by the company based on the research and development of "Crust No. 1" and combined with market demand. Smart Drilling Rig 1.0 can achieve one-click linkage in key links of oil drilling such as drilling, pipe laying machine, and top drive to improve production efficiency. "Universities have strong original ability and enterprises have strong R&D strength. Cooperation between schools and enterprises can make up for shortcomings well, and drive the development of equipment manufacturing industry while promoting scientific and technological development." said Lv Lan, general manager of Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co., Ltd.

The technical achievements of the "Crust No. 1" drilling rig are also applied to the "Aurora" polar drilling rig, which has become the first polar drilling rig manufactured in my country that can operate in an environment of minus 55 degrees Celsius. The "Aurora" is responsible for carrying out oil and gas exploration operations in the Yamal high-cold region of the Arctic Circle in Russia. This is a major project of China-Russia energy cooperation and the first overseas super-large project implemented by China after proposing the "Belt and Road" initiative.

This issue is coordinated by Yang Shuobi

Layout design: Zhang Danfeng

People's Daily (Page 04, August 04, 2024)