Sinopec drills deepest geothermal exploration well in China

The Fushen-1 Well is located in Hainan.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) completed the drilling of the deepest geothermal exploration well in the country with a depth of 5,200 metres.

In a statement, Sinopec said the Fushen-1 Well in Hainan drilling unveiled the “mechanism of deep geothermal formation and enrichment in China” which will be vital in improving the large-scale development and utilisation of geothermal resources in the area.

Following this, Sinopec will proceed with extensive research and field tests to establish the first platform that integrates research, education, and experimentation of deep geothermal in South China which will contribute to achieving the country’s “dual-carbon” goal.

“The development and application of deep geothermal has promising prospects, as a stable, reliable, green, and low-carbon renewable energy resource, it has the advantages of large reserves, wide distribution, and is environmentally friendly,” Sinopec said.

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The exploration, which goal is granite dated 250 million years ago, started in August 2023 which uses various technologies which include the combination of dual-drive drilling and high-pressure injection to attain the temperature limit of hot dry rock.

Hot dry rock geothermal resources that are within three kilometres to 10,000 metres underground China is equivalent to 856 trillion tons of standard coal, Sinopec said, citing China’s geological surveys. If only 2% of these are extracted, they could reach 2,993 times the annual energy consumption of China in 2023.