On February 24, China's first movable modular rig on a 7,000m annular rail for an artificial island spudded smoothly at the No.1 artificial island in the Jidong Nanpu Oilfield, marking the launch of the field's full-scale development.

    The rig was developed by Baoji Oilfield Machinery Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of CNPC. Its host module integrates all ground transport facilities into a platform in order to save transportation and installation time during drilling.

    The first movable modular rig for the artificial island is expected to drill to a depth of 3,500m. The drilling of a well can be completed within 50 days under normal operational circumstances.