Beijing gets new 'condom' material to help drilling in South China Sea
Scientists' material may save the country millions of yuan as it eyes increased oil and gas exploration
A new breakthrough by Chinese scientists may boost the country's exploration for oil and gas in the South China Sea.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a plastic "condom" to help drills penetrate thousands of metres of seabed without getting damaged or stuck.
"The deep you [drill], the closer the temperature drops to freezing point," said professor Liu Zhihong, lead scientist of the project at the academy's Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology.
"When sedimentary rock interacts with the drill bits at low temperatures in water, it churns out mud as sticky as dough, which can damage or even break the drill."
Liu's team developed a power-like polymer to solve the problem.
After being added to the drilling fluid, the plastic agent can prevent "intimate contact" between rocky waste and water molecules, reducing stickiness. A protective layer is also formed around the drill head to reduce wear and tear by more than 80 per cent.
China is not the first nation to have encountered problems with deep drilling. Various chemical compounds have been developed by companies around the world to assist in such work, and have long been used by Chinese oil rigs.