The hole will eventually reach 10,520 meters (34,514 feet) into the ground at the Sichuan Basin in southwest China, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. The region is a major area for gas production and engineers expected to find a natural gas reserve there, the report said. These ultradeep holes stretch greater than Mount Everest measuring from top to bottom, which is about 8,800 meters (28,871 feet) tall. Drilling deep allows scientists to learn more about how the Earth was formed with the crust acting like a geological timeline of or world’s formation. China, the world’s second largest economy and the world’s biggest carbon emitter, has huge energy needs.

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Persons: Chen Lili, ”, Xi Jinping, John Kerry, Xi, – Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Xinhua, China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinopec Corp, Reuters, Kerry Locations: Hong Kong, Sichuan, China, Tarim, China’s, Xinjiang, Russia, Soviet, Xinhua, Beijing