China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) announced on July 3 that it had completed an 8,725-meter oil well in Shunbei oil-gas field in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is the deepest land oil well in Asia, Chinanews.com reported.

A bird's eye view of the Shunbei oil-gas field. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Breaking the previous record set by an 8,588-meter oil well, also located in Shunbei oil-gas field, the newly drilled oil well shows that China leads the world in deep well drilling.

Shunbei oil-gas field is home to nearly 40 oil wells with a depth of more than 8,000 meters. According to statistics, the oil-gas field produced 2.1 million tons of crude oil and 625 million cubic meters of natural gas in the first half of the year.

Buried over 8,000 meters underground, drilling is difficult due to the complex geological structure and high temperatures at Shunbei oil-gas field. To address these issues, engineers at Sinopec have developed tools to reduce friction and improve accuracy of drilling.