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)