Karamay Drilling Company branching out of northwest China, builds 3,000-hp land rig

摘要

IN THE EARLY 1950s, China discovered oil in the Zhun'gur Basin, located in far northwest China in the Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. Before long, the Karamay Oilfield had been established - in the region's native Uyghur language, "Karamay" means "Black Oil Hill." Since discovery, the field has attracted thousands of engineers and workers to the region, transforming it from a sparsely populated wilderness to the an urban city with a population of more than 330,000. Founded in 1956, Karamay Drilling Company (KDC) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Over the past 5 decades, it has built up a fleet of 103 onshore rigs, with capacities ranging from 650 hp to 3,000 hp. It employs more than 6,400 workers - including 69 senior engineers and experts, 519 engineers and 2,430 technicians. Together, they work to produce 12 million tons of crude oil and natural gas a year, and the company lias completed more than 19,000 oil and gas wells with a total footage of more than 27 million meters.