It has long remained a mystery whether oil and gas reserves are present in the extra-deep stratum, 7000 meters below the surface of the earth.

However, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) recently confirmed that they have begun drilling an 8,875-meter-deep well in Sichuan province for scientific exploration. It will be the deepest oil well in Asia, and will hopefully facilitate breakthroughs in China's oil and gas exploration industry.

Experts hope that the oil well will help them to find out more about the oil and gas distribution in the marine strata of southern China. They also expect to find large-scale gas fields in the extra-deep stratum.

By People's Daily Online