China's Sinopec on Thursday announced two breakthroughs in an ultra-long horizontal shale gas well drilling project in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the company said on Thursday.
With a depth of 7,161 meters underground, the Jiaoye 18-S12HF well of the Fuling shale gas field has completed single drilling footage of 4,225 meters in the overall 4,286-meter-long horizontal section in the well, setting new records for the longest horizontal section of shale gas wells in China and the longest footage in a single trip in the horizontal section.
The image shows the 4,286-meter-long horizontal section in the Jiaoye 18-S12HF well of the Fuling shale gas field. /CMG
Ultra-long horizontal wells refer to wells with horizontal sections longer than 3,000 meters.
Due to technical challenges such as the complex drilling environment and the high risk of wellbore collapse, it is difficult to carry out mountain shale gas drilling in such wells in China. The company said it had succeeded in the technology in February 2018.
The Fuling gas field has posted a total gas output of over 47 billion cubic meters since it was developed, providing clean energy for over 70 large and medium-sized cities in central and eastern China, according to the company.