The 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva has recently concluded, with the “Complete Technology for Ultra-High-Temperature Environmentally Friendly Water-Based Drilling Fluid for 10,000-Meter Deep Wells,” developed under the leadership of Academician Sun Jinsheng from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Engineering Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., winning the exhibition’s Gold Medal among more than 1,000 entries from over 40 countries and regions.

The International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, jointly organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Swiss Federal Government, is one of the world’s three major invention exhibitions and is widely known as the “Olympics of Inventions.” The exhibition adopts strict evaluation criteria covering technological originality, innovation breakthroughs, engineering practicality, and intellectual property protection. The Gold Medal is the highest honor of the exhibition, representing outstanding performance and significant contributions among similar inventions.

The award marks international recognition of China’s major original achievements in 10,000-meter deep drilling technology and demonstrates that China’s oil and gas well engineering technologies have entered the world’s leading ranks.

Why is drilling fluid essential for 10,000-meter deep drilling?

China has abundant deep and ultra-deep oil and gas resources. Deep and ultra-deep resources are estimated at 67.1 billion tonnes of oil equivalent, accounting for approximately 34% of China’s total oil and gas resources.

As shallow oil and gas resources continue to decline, ultra-deep formations have become a major target for increasing reserves and production. However, these formations involve extremely challenging geological conditions, including ultra-high temperatures (bottom-hole temperatures exceeding 200°C), ultra-high pressures (above 140 MPa), high stress, high salinity, and complex fracture-cavity systems. During drilling operations, problems such as wellbore instability, severe lost circulation, and pipe sticking frequently occur.

Drilling fluid, often described as the “blood of drilling engineering,” is a key technology for ensuring safe and efficient exploration and development of ultra-deep formations. Conventional drilling fluids tend to degrade and lose stability under ultra-high temperatures, high density, and high salinity conditions, making them unsuitable for 10,000-meter deep wells.

Breaking through three global technical challenges

To overcome these challenges, Academician Sun Jinsheng and his team conducted years of research and field trials, successfully addressing three major global technical challenges: ultra-high-temperature degradation and flocculation of water-based drilling fluids, ultra-high-temperature sedimentation of oil-based drilling fluids, and low success rates of one-time lost circulation control.

The team achieved two major breakthroughs:

First, the temperature resistance of water-based drilling fluid was significantly improved. The newly developed environmentally friendly water-based drilling fluid system for ultra-high-temperature and high-salinity environments increased temperature resistance from 200°C to 240°C and extended long-term stability from less than three days to 30 days. The technology requires no additional harmless treatment, delivering major environmental and economic benefits.

Second, the team developed innovative temperature- and pressure-responsive lost circulation materials. These materials feature self-healing bonding capabilities under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions and can tightly adhere to rock formations. With bidirectional pressure resistance of at least 20 MPa, they significantly improve one-time plugging success rates and long-term pressure-bearing performance.

The complete technology package has been evaluated by multiple academicians and experts and has reached an internationally leading level. Previously, it received the Special Prize of the 2025 Science and Technology Progress Award from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

Supporting the successful completion of China’s first 10,000-meter deep well

The technology has been applied in oil and gas fields including Tarim, Southwest China, Xinjiang, and Iraq’s Halfaya Oilfield.

Its most notable achievement was supporting the successful completion of China’s first 10,000-meter deep well, Deep Earth Tako-1 Well. On January 5, 2025, the well was successfully completed at a depth of 10,910 meters, becoming the deepest vertical well in Asia and the second deepest vertical well in the world. The project set several global engineering records, including the deepest liner cementing operation, the deepest wireline imaging logging operation, and the fastest onshore drilling project to surpass 10,000 meters.

The technology was subsequently selected as one of the “Top Ten Technical Tools” for 10,000-meter deep drilling.

Why did this technology win the Geneva Gold Medal?

The Gold Medal of the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva is highly prestigious. The judging panel consists of more than 80 independent experts from around the world. The evaluation requires not only technological originality and innovation but also mature industrial application value and international intellectual property capabilities.

The “Complete Technology for Ultra-High-Temperature Environmentally Friendly Water-Based Drilling Fluid for 10,000-Meter Deep Wells” meets these demanding standards:

• Originality: Based on fundamental research, the team developed the first environmentally friendly water-based drilling fluid system capable of withstanding ultra-high temperatures and high salinity, increasing temperature resistance to 240°C.

• Practical application: The technology has been widely applied in multiple domestic and overseas oil and gas fields and supported globally recognized 10,000-meter deep drilling projects.

• Technical difficulty: It solved global challenges related to drilling fluid failure under extreme conditions involving ultra-high temperatures, ultra-high pressures, and high salinity.

The Gold Medal represents international recognition of China’s deep drilling technology transition from “catching up” to “leading.”