Ancient Chinese drilling

摘要

Drilling technology is older than we think. For most of us, drilling and the exploitation of hydrocarbons date back to the mid-19th century. However, sophisticated drilling techniques were first developed in the ancient salt producing industry in China's Sichuan Province. As detailed by Mark Kurlansky in his book, Salt: A World History, the drilling technology used to produce brine and natural gas in this region far pre-dates western efforts.