mud pump for dug well made in china

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Wenzhou Johames Technology Co.,Ltd mainly manufacture and export industrial pumps with good reputation around home and abroad. Product is exported to Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, more than 45 countries and regions.

mission magnum, mission 2500 supreme, mcm250 centrifugal pump, mechanical seal, demco butterfly valve, kemper hammerseal union, varco tong dies, demco mud gate valve and oteco pressure gauge

Kunming Kunshui Industrial Pump Co., Ltd("Kunshui pump" for short) is a professional manufacturer of pump specialized in manufacturing slurry pumps with more than10 years experience in China.

We would suggest you to visit our website for further references. And please feel free to inform us of your interested items for quotation or the detail information you need.

GREENTECH was founded in 2000, The company is professional blower and vacuum pump manufacturer specializing in producing and supplying full range of 2BV and 2BE series liquid ring vacuum pump, vacuum compressor etc.

air operated diaphragm pump,including metal and non-metal series, widely applied in chemical, paints & coatings, food processing, pharmaceutical, construction, mining, utilities, pulp & paper, metal finishing

BLDC PUMP produces excellent small electric DC water pumps for cooling, circulation system in the various device, for fish tank aquarium, small fountains and other applications. We are a magnetic DC water pump manufacturer located in Shenzhen of China.

1、Specializing in the production of high-performance SSIC seal friction material/SSIC + C/SSIC + BN/B4C、High quality sintered graphite sealing ring friction materials 2、 mechanical seal OEM production

Shanghai Shenbao Industrial Pump Co., Ltd. is located in Minhang Development Zone in Shanghai, occupying an area of over 45,000sq.m .Shenbao has become a multi-industry enterprise and specialist in research and manufacture pump...

Slurry pumps, Vertical slurry pumps, slurry pumps, Gravel sand pumps, Dredging pumps, Paper pulp pumps, Molten Salt Pumps, End suction pumps, Double suction pumps, Multistage pumps, Boiler feed water pumps...

Wuhan EvenWall Machinery Co., Ltd. specialized in even wall thickness stator and hollow rotor for progressive cavity pump, even wall thickness stator for mineral oil transportation(artificial lift), multi lobe power section for downhole drilling motor(mud motor).

Shijiazhuang Jiurun Pump Co., Ltd is a pump engineering, manufacturing and distribution company for industrial, municipal and dewatering applications. With over 60 years’ expertise, we have developed great reputation by serving the mining, power, metallurgy, dredging, petroleum

we are a professional pump manufacturer in China with many years experience. We mainly produce slurry pump, spare parts and OEM wear resistance casting.

APK, A Pump that Keeps water moving, is the brand name of Zhengzhou Shenlong Pump Industry Co., Ltd. APK Submersible pumps is short as APK Pump. We are a large scale submersible pump manufacturer officially registered on Apr 25, 1996. Our factory is in Henan Province

Drinking water wells and other types of wells that are no longer in use can pose safety hazards, especially to small children and pets. These abandoned wells can also serve as pathways for contamination to enter groundwater. Abandoned wells should be properly decommissioned to eliminate these potential hazards. The Department recommends wells be decommissioned using the methods described below.

Prior to abandonment of any well the pump, drop pipe, electrical controls, etc. must be removed from the casing. Leaving these items inside the well casing will cause voids when filling the well, which may increase the possibility of contamination of the well and local aquifers.

Driven Points made of small diameter pipe should be pulled out of the ground. The hole should be filled with grout if possible. The area should be graded so that surface water flows away from the abandoned well location.

Dug wells should be back filled with soil similar to surrounding soils, and compacted to match the surrounding soils. Broken concrete, wood, or other debris should NOT be used as backfill. Prior to back filling, the side wall lining of the dug well should be removed to the full depth if safety can be maintained or to at least four feet below ground level. Dug wells that have penetrated fractured rock should have a cement or grout seal placed in the rock section prior to back filling. After back filling, the area should be graded so that surface water flows away from the abandoned well location.

Drilled wells can be difficult to decommission properly. Whenever practical, the well casing should be pulled out of the ground or overdrilled, and the length of the drill hole sealed with grout. When full casing removal is impractical, the entire length of the drillhole including casing interior should be grouted, and the casing cut off at least four feet below ground. Well casings that penetrate multiple aquifers should be perforated prior to pressure grouting the interior. After back filling, the area should be graded so that surface water flows away from the abandoned well location.

Artesian wells, wells in creviced rock such as limestone, and wells penetrating multiple aquifers pose the most difficult decommissioning procedures. The Department recommends that well drillers follow the procedures found in American Water Works Association Standard A100 "AWWA Standard for Water Wells".

The proper use of grout in decommissioning a well can provide the best protection against contaminant migration. Effective grouting requires careful placement to ensure no voids are left in the well and that the seal is complete. Registered well drillers can ensure proper grout selection and installation.

In some locations, one or more regulatory agencies and/or municipalities may have specific requirements for decommissioning abandoned water wells. The Local Health Department should be consulted for information on regulatory requirements prior to decommissioning.

State regulations require that anyone engaged in the business of water well drilling in the state of New York first obtain a certificate of registration from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Water well drilling activities covered by this regulation include well decommissioning.

The decommissioning of abandoned individual water supply wells can be difficult and dangerous. Though decommissioning may be done by the homeowner, it is strongly recommended that the services of a DEC registered well driller be obtained.

An Oil Pump is also known as an internal combustion machine. Oil Pump is generally gears or gear types that are driven by the cam shaft or the crank shaft or a rotor type. Oil pressure varies to a great extent when they are operated with a lower temperature and a higher RPM OR Revolutions per Minute which increases the Pump pressure up to a maximum of about 4 bars. Oil Well refers to a boring that is made through the earth’s surface to produce or find hydro carbons or petroleum, along with some natural gas produced. To ensure that the pressure does not go beyond the rated maximum, there is a spring adjusted pressure relief valve that directs the oil back to its source once the preset limit of the pressure is exceeded.

Oil fields Pump is operated by drilling. Oil Well Pump works by sucking the oil out of the oil pan of the engine with the help of a wire mesh strainer as well as helps pump the Oil out of the Oil Pump of the engine before it goes on to the bearings. An Oil well is created with the help of a driller that drills a hole of 5 to 36 inches. Oil Well Pump is something using which Oil is pumped out of the Well. The function is performed with the help of a drilling rig that rotates a drill string along with a bit affixed to it.

Once drilled, sections of the steel tubing or casing that are somewhat smaller in diameter than the bore hole are positioned in the hole. Outside the bore hole and the casing, you may place cement. Pump provides structural consistency to the newly drilled well bore by isolating the potentially dangerous high pressure zones from each other as well as from the surface. The Oil Well can be bored to a greater depth by a bit that is smaller in size. It is also cased with a casing of similar type. Pump that is modern can drill holes into an Oil Well that has several holes drilled into them.

The pipes that are used for the purpose are known as drill collars. Pump drills are used for the same purposes for drawing Oil. Well Pump is often used to pump the drilling fluid down the pipe. Pump for oils are helpful. Well Pump is required for essential purposes. Well of petroleum has a natural pressure. Well drilling is required for the purpose. Pump jacks are used for many reasons. Pump well must be done for effective tapping of resources. The Pump which draws oil from underground reservoirs helps tap the resource.

Nearly 3 million Missourians depend on water wells for their drinking water. Over the years, construction methods for water wells have evolved from being dug by hand, bored with augers, and hammered by cable tool rigs to drilling with air rotary or sonic drill rigs. Over time, thousands of water wells were abandoned without being properly plugged. A well is considered abandoned when it can no longer produce water, transport water to its point of use, or causes a contamination risk to groundwater and has not been used for two or more years.

Abandoned wells can present a physical hazard and threat to groundwater. Hand-dug wells with wide openings pose a life-threatening hazard to people and animals. Abandoned wells that reach deep into groundwater aquifers serve as a conduit for contamination.

Abandoned wells exist in every county of the state. An obvious sign of an abandoned well is casing pipe sticking out of the ground. A concrete slab or man-made cover may be a sign of a pit where an abandoned well is located. Windmills or hand pumps are almost always associated with abandoned wells. If an abandoned well is discovered, please contact us for assistance at 573-368-2165 or email welldrillers@dnr.mo.gov.

State law and supporting regulations require abandoned wells to be plugged. This responsibility usually falls on the landowner. Landowners may plug abandoned wells on their property themselves. Special circumstances exist where the department may require the well to be plugged by a permitted contractor. If a landowner hires a person to plug a well, the hired person must have a well or pump installation permit issued by the department. An exception to the permit rule applies to hand dug wells and bored wells (no greater than 80 feet in depth). Missouri Well Construction Rule Chapter 3, 10 CSR 23-3.110 describes plugging specifications for all water well types.

Any water in an abandoned well must be disinfected prior to plugging. Wells are directly connected to groundwater and must be bacteria free when plugged. To disinfect a well, pour 1 gallon unscented household bleach in the well before adding clean fill or grout material. The following links provide helpful information about properly disinfecting a well:

The most commonly used grout is sodium bentonite, which is a swelling clay. The most common form of bentonite grout is three-eighths inch chips. Bentonite also comes in coated pellets and can be made into a slurry using powder. Wells may also be plugged using cement grout, which is a mix of one 96 lb. bag of Portland cement with 6 gallons of clean water.

If the well is deep, it is permissible to add clean fill to offset the cost of grout when plugging a well. Examples of clean fill include pea gravel and varied-size agricultural lime or sand. Clean fill is NOT a substitute for grout. A grout plug always is required for drilled wells. Clean fill may be used from total well depth to 50 feet below the bottom of the well casing. If the casing depth is unknown, the well must be filled completely with grout. Hand-dug wells maybe plugged entirely using clean fill.

Sections 256.614, RSMo require that the plugging of abandoned wells be registered with the department within 60 days of the work being completed. Staff will review the plugging registration report to ensure that the well was plugged in accordance with Missouri Well Construction Rules.

If the report shows the well was plugged properly, a registration number will be issued and a letter will be sent to the landowner. It is important to keep this documentation, because some lending institutions and local governments require such proof upon sale or refinancing.

The plugging of abandoned wells must be reported to the department and can be done by using Well Installation Online Services or by submitting the appropriate form.

Bedrock water supply wells typically have steel or PVC casing that is 6 inches in diameter. The amount of casing and the total depth of these wells varies widely with geologic conditions across the state.

To plug a bedrock well, remove the pump and any debris. Dig around the casing 2 feet below the surface and cut the casing off. Clean fill material may be used from the bottom of the well to a point 50 feet below the bottom of the casing. Grout is then used from the top of the fill to within 2 feet of the surface, extending into the excavated area at least 1 foot. The remaining 1 foot should be filled with clay or clay-rich soil. If the casing depth is unknown, the well must be plugged full length with approved grout.

If the well is located in a well house with a concrete floor or in an area surrounded by asphalt, cut the casing flush with the hard surface. Follow the steps for plugging, but add a 1-foot cement cap at the top of the well.

In general, water wells that are constructed in unconsolidated materials, such as clay, silt, sand or gravel, have small diameter casing less than 6 inches, or large diameter casing 12 inches or greater. These wells are found mostly in northern Missouri, along the Missouri River and in the Bootheel area. The casing pipe is usually PVC. The lower portion of the well below the casing is a slotted pipe or well screen. This allows water to enter the well without the sand and gravel filling the well or interfering with the operation of the pump.

To plug an unconsolidated material well, remove the pump and any debris. Dig around the casing 2 feet below the surface and cut the casing. If the well is in an agricultural area, the casing must be cut 3 feet below surface. If the well is less than 200 feet deep, use clean fill material to a depth of 20 feet below the surface. Add grout to fill the upper 20 feet extends into the excavated area at least 1 foot. Fill the remaining excavated area with clay or clay-rich soil. For wells greater than 200 feet in depth, a 50-foot grout plug is required above the clean fill.

If the well is located in a well house with a concrete floor or in an area surrounded by asphalt, cut the casing flush with the hard surface. Follow the steps for plugging but add a 1-foot cement cap at the top of the well.

Wells that were dug by hand usually are 3-6 feet in diameter and 10-30 feet in depth, and are usually lined with material such as brick or fieldstone. Wells that are less than 10 feet in depth are exempt from plugging rules.

To plug a hand-dug well, carefully push in the upper 2 feet of the lining. Fill the well to within 2 feet of the surface with clean fill. The remainder of the well should be filled with clay or clay-rich soil.

Wells that serve public facilities (e.g., cities, water districts, motels, restaurants, schools, subdivisions) have more stringent plugging requirements. Public facilities usually require a large volume of water, which requires wells to be drilled deep into groundwater aquifers. The depth of some wells are 1,000 feet or greater. Contact us for plugging specifications for public wells.

A well that produces 70 gallons per minute or more is considered a high yield well. Similar to public wells, high yield wells are often very deep and require specific plugging specification to protect the groundwater aquifer. Plugging rules allow high yield bedrock wells to be plugged full length with cement slurry without prior department approval. For any other plugging methods, contact us for plugging specifications for high yield wells.

Where there is water on earth, there is life, and all life activities originate from water. Water is an indispensable and important resource for human survival and development, and water plays an important role in people"s lives. However, in many parts of Africa, people often have to walk more than ten miles in order to drink water, and carry back several buckets of muddy muddy water. The survival of a family, including the drinking water of domestic livestock, depends on this muddy muddy water. Many women here have been backing water since childhood, and one back is a lifetime. One might ask, why didn"t they dig wells? Some people may say that Africans are lazy. In fact, this is not the most fundamental reason. The main reason is that due to the special geographical structure of Africa, it is particularly difficult to dig wells locally. Even if a well is dug, there may not be water. The corresponding funds and technology make it even more difficult for them to drill wells by themselves.

Senegal is a small country in Africa, known as the "Horn of West Africa". It is located at the westernmost tip of the prominent part of West Africa and is one of the more densely populated countries in West Africa. The central and eastern regions are mostly semi-desert areas, and the maximum temperature in the dry season can reach 45°C. In rural areas far from cities, the water supply facilities are often outdated, and the basic living water of the villagers cannot be guaranteed all the year round. Obtaining drinking water is a perennial problem that people have to face. Some herders need to walk for hours to reach the nearest water point. In some places, they need to dig holes in the dry riverbed to find relatively clean water for themselves and their animals. water source. In the past, there was only one well in the village, and people queued up to fetch water every morning. Residents of neighboring villages even had to walk more than two kilometers to fetch water here. The queuing time would last from early morning to midnight, preventing many young people in the village from going to school.

After the rainy season, the village of Bahrain in the Giulbele district of Senegal looks particularly hot and desolate. At first glance, the simple thatched houses where the villagers live are connected to the surrounding land, only a water tower erected high in the village is particularly conspicuous. This well is part of a well-drilling project in rural Senegal, financed by China, and a well of happiness on the African continent. In the water supply machine room next to the water tower, Diom, a villager in Bahrain Village, is carefully wiping the water supply equipment, checking the operating condition, and filling the engine with oil.

Diom is a well coordinator for CGCOC Senegal"s rural well drilling project and is responsible for maintaining the well in Bahrain village. He witnessed the implementation of the well drilling project in rural Senegal, and also saw the changes this well brought to the local area. In front of the old well in the village, Diom said: "It used to be too difficult to fetch water. There is only one well here, and there is a lack of maintenance all the year round. One lacks funds, and the other lacks technology, so it is really difficult to dig a well here." To solve the local drinking water problem and help the local people to drink clean and hygienic well water, China has built a large number of wells for the Senegalese people, covering many areas.

The well-being of African people has always been an important part of China-Africa cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed China-Africa "Ten Cooperation Plans" at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. China will focus on supporting Africa to overcome the three major development bottlenecks of lagging infrastructure, lack of talent and lack of funds, speed up the process of industrialization and agricultural modernization, and achieve independent and sustainable development. Senegal responded positively, and China and Senegal immediately launched project docking. Since then, the rural well drilling project has become one of the measures taken by China and Serbia to implement the "Ten Cooperation Plans".

On March 5, 2017, the construction of the rural well drilling water supply infrastructure project in Senegal, undertaken by Sinopec Nova Petroleum Corporation"s subsidiary CGCOC, officially started. A local villager was full of expectations for the rural well drilling project. In time for the rain, I believe that soon, we will be able to drink sweet tap water like city dwellers."

Many villagers gathered near the drilling site in Bahrain Village. They turned the bucket over and beat the beat, the children couldn"t help dancing, and the women washing their clothes laughed happily. Zhang Shaohua said: "Chinese workers often help local villagers to weld horses and carts, repair planters, transport goods, etc. The villagers also help the Chinese employees to wash their clothes, brush their shoes, deliver their own livestock, and provide accommodation for the Chinese workers. ." The Chinese workers and the local people became one.

According to reports, the rural well drilling project involves 12 of the 14 regions in Senegal, building and rebuilding 261 wells for rural areas, building 181 water towers, laying 1,800 kilometers of water supply pipelines, and supporting 270 drinking water troughs for livestock. Each water supply system includes wells, water towers, water transmission and distribution pipelines and water distribution facilities, with a maximum daily water supply scale of 80,000 cubic meters. Benefiting from the project, more than 2 million Senegalese people can enjoy clean drinking water at their doorsteps, creating employment opportunities for more than 3,000 local people, and fostering a group of engineers and technicians. A new symbol of mutually beneficial cooperation.

During the execution of this project, its harsh climate environment, backward infrastructure and complexity far exceeded the imagination of the drilling team. It was very difficult to find water sources in the desert. weeks. In addition, the well drilling projects are located in rural areas, with complex geological conditions and deep water levels. Collapses and slurry leakage often occur. In addition to the poor traffic conditions in rural areas, especially in the rainy season, the transport vehicles will fall into yellow water. In the mud, the equipment had to be moved into the village one by one, which brought a lot of difficulties to the project. Wei Rui, who was in charge of the contract performance of the Senegal project, recalled: "No matter what difficulties encountered, the Chinese drilling team has always adhered to the attitude of quality first and service first, and made a good start in the early stage of the project. During the training, the team members overcame various difficulties and sincerely served the local people." It was appreciated by the local people.

September 20, 2018 was a big day for the village of Bahrain, as Diom and the villagers witnessed the inauguration of a new well. After three years, with the unremitting efforts of the well drilling team, the deep-water well drilling project in each village was successfully completed in March 2021. At the same time, the rural well drilling project in Senegal has passed the acceptance of the Senegalese government. This project is the beginning of a project of benefiting the people in China to solve the practical difficulties of millions of rural people in Senegal. It has greatly improved the quality of drinking water and sanitary conditions for the rural people in Senegal and living standards, so that the local people live a happy life with drinking water at their doorstep.

It is imperative for African countries to increase investment in water infrastructure to ensure access to healthy and safe drinking water. A well-drilling project aided by China has helped Senegal solve this problem. After the completion of the project, the water shortage problem that has plagued the local area for many years has been solved, bringing tangible benefits to the Senegalese. According to estimates by the Senegalese Ministry of Water Resources, the 251 wells constructed by China will increase the availability of drinking water in rural areas of Senegal to 91%, greatly improving local drinking water sanitation and reducing the incidence of diseases.

"As long as I can work with the Chinese, I will be very happy." Said Sheikhna, a 41-year-old employee of China-Serbia International, who has built 11 wells in rural Senegal with the well-drilling team and accumulated rich experience. Sheikhna eats and lives with the Chinese workers on weekdays, and likes to eat instant noodles brought by the Chinese workers. Sometimes, he can stay overnight with a temporary bed next to the construction site. He said that because of the rural well drilling project, the Chinese have a very high status in the eyes of Senegalese. Every time the well is completed, the local villagers will sing and dance when they see clean water coming out of the well. He was still impressed by the scenes of the carnival celebrations. At the most, a village killed 8 sheep.

Zhang Shaohua also recalled his previous experience after drilling a well: "The night before the water came out, in the middle of the night, there were villagers lining up with buckets, waiting for the moment when the water was drawn from the well at dawn." The workers got up in the morning to prepare for the water pumping experiment. When I saw the long queue waiting for the water, I was surprised. After pumping out the water, everyone helped the villagers fill up the buckets. They poured the water on their bodies while filling the water. Women and children crowded over and cheered together.

The well was completed, and Diom, as a well coordinator, faithfully performed his duties every day, and also truly realized the real changes brought by China-Africa cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative to the local area. Diom sincerely thanked the Chinese government for building this "well of happiness" for the villagers. He said: "I am very grateful to Chinese friends for bringing happiness to our village and the Belt and Road Initiative. I sincerely hope that the friendship between Serbia and China will last forever and create a bright and happy future for the children."

The Senegalese rural well drilling project aided by China is of great significance, and it has written a profound friendship between Senegal and China. China"s assistance to Senegal is not only in the economic aspect, but also in the people"s livelihood. Since then, President Xi Jinping has successfully paid a state visit to Senegal, which has opened a new chapter in the relations between the two countries. The previous competitive wrestling hall, the Thies Highway, and the well-drilling project that is still being implemented all show that China pays attention to what the Senegalese people really need. At the same time, China has brought comfortable and considerate help to Senegal. A symbol of deep friendship between nations.

Now, China is Senegal"s second largest trading partner and largest peanut importer, and the bilateral trade volume has expanded 16 times in 10 years. China is the largest source of financing for Senegal, and the projects such as the Fangjiuni Bridge and the Thies-Tuba Expressway financed by China will strongly promote the economic development of Senegal. The rural well drilling project financed by the Chinese side will build 251 wells and 1,800 kilometers of pipelines, which will solve the problem of water for one-seventh of Senegal"s population and make important contributions to Senegal"s people"s livelihood and economy.

The President of Senegal said: The rural well drilling project is the star project of Senegal"s "Emergency Plan for Rural Development". Well-drilling water supply projects all over the country will truly provide strong support for the development of local agriculture and rural areas. "We thank China for thinking what Senegal thinks and what Senegal is anxious for, and providing comprehensive support for this project. As the Chinese saying goes, "When you drink water, don"t forget the man who digs the well", we will continue to work on developing a special friendship with China in the future. relationship, promote the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries to a new level, and promote the comprehensive and sustainable development of the Belt and Road Initiative." Let us work together to push forward China-Serbia cooperation along the path of mutual benefit and win-win! China and Senegal are united! Editor/Zhao E

Hand dug wells and other manual methods to dig a well have been in existence for thousands of years. Though mechanized methods are more efficient and effective, there are often no options for people and communities in need of water.

People have been making wells without the use of power equipment for thousands of years. Each of the methods described in this section involve hard work, but most can be carried out using locally-available materials and skills.

Digging a well by hand, using simple tools like a pick and shovel, with a bucket on a rope to remove cuttings, is the oldest and probably the most frequently-used method of getting access to groundwater.

Making hand dug wells requires only common tools and skills, so it can be done by anyone. In many areas men have specialized in this trade as a business.

Where labor costs are low, this is usually the least costly method of well construction. In an aquifer with low permeability, a large diameter hand dug wells may produce more water than a borehole in the same aquifer.

Hand digging a well is very dangerous due to the high potential for cave-ins and lack of oxygen. Digging a well is very hard work for one person. Because it is difficult to dig very deep, hand-dug wells more than 30 meters are uncommon.

A hand dug well is very difficult to protect from contamination. There are many ways for surface water to seep in, and the typical bucket on a rope used to fetch water easily transmits bacteria to the groundwater.

A hand dug well can be protected by sealing the walls, pouring a concrete apron, putting a lid over the top, and installing a hand pump. But these measures increase the cost of the well.

As the pipe is rapidly pushed down, water and cuttings are forced out the top. The pipe can be as simple as hollowed-out bamboo or joints of PVC pipe with a sharpened bit at the end. With a suitable drilling pipe, a borehole can be advanced to at least 70 meters. Beyond about 10 meters, it is necessary to raise the pipe using a rope and a tripod.

Sludgingis much easier and safer than making a hand dug well. The materials required are very simple and can be adapted from whatever is locally available.

Sludging is very tiring and requires a crew of people taking turns. It can only drill in soft materials such as silt and sand. Hard clay can be slowly penetrated but rock can"t be drilled. Large gravel can"t be lifted out of the borehole. The borehole diameter is typically only slightly larger than the diameter of the well casing, so it is hard to install an adequate sanitary seal to prevent contamination from surface water.

This form of drilling is said to have been used by the Chinese more than 4,000 years ago. It is still commonly practiced around the world today. It consists of repeatedly dropping a heavy drill bit connected to a rope or cable in a hole partially filled with water.

By adding a sharpened bit and a one-way valve at the bottom of the drill pipe, manual percussion and sledging techniques can be combined to get better penetration than sludging and more efficient cuttings removal than percussion drilling, while being safer than making a hand dug well.

Although manual percussion drilling requires more specialized tools and more skill than making a hand dug well, it is a method that anyone can employ and perfect.

It is faster and much safer than making a hand dug well and is capable of reaching 70 meters or deeper. With a proper bit design, percussion drilling can also penetrate boulders or solid rock (very slowly).

The borehole can be sealed to prevent surface water from entering the well and with a hand pump installed can provide a good supply of safe water; another advantage over a hand dug well.

Also called a ""sand point"", this method employs a sharpened hard steel point at the end of a short (less than 1 meter) section of perforated pipe. A strong steel pipe is screwed onto the drive point and the assembly is driven into the ground using a heavy sledge hammer.

A drive point is only effective in loose sand where there is a high water table, such as close to a river or lake. It is very difficult to drive more than about 5 meters. It is not possible to install an adequate sanitary seal so a well made with this method is easily contaminated.

This manual drilling method uses a small-diameter open-bottom bucket with angled teeth at the end to cut into the soil. The bucket is attached by a series of steel rods to a T-shaped handle at the top by which the bucket is rotated. As the bucket fills, it is lifted out and emptied. Additional rods are added as the hole gets deeper. Auguring is normally used for taking soil samples, but is has been marketed for use in shallow well construction.

Subsequent to writing that article I happened to read an excellent book with the title Salt: A World History, written by Mark Kurlansky. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in history and human affairs, along with Kurlansky’s other books, Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, and The Basque History of the World. The three books’ themes are interrelated in a most entertaining way. But to get back to Salt, in one chapter an ancient salt producing industry involving sophisticated drilling techniques and coproduction of brine and natural gas in China’s Sichuan province, far pre-dating western efforts, is detailed. I was tremendously interested by this, and immediately felt that this topic would make a great follow up to my first one, as it involved hydrocarbon exploitation, and better still, was ideal nourishment for the bee in my bonnet – it involved another culture, from long ago, whose exploits and achievements are frequently overlooked by us in the west.

Through a little research I discovered the existence of a museum dedicated to Sichuan’s ancient brine / salt / gas industry. Called The Salt Museum, it is located in Zigong City, named after two of its famous salt wells, about three hours’ drive south of the provincial capital Chengdu (figure 1). I resigned myself to the fact that it was highly unlikely I’d be close to China in the near future, let alone Zigong. Then earlier this year, out of the blue, a business-related trip to Chengdu materialized, and I was determined to visit The Salt Museum while over there. It all worked out, and this article is the result. My aim is to provide interested readers with an understanding of the fascinating achievements of these people hundreds of years ago. As with my previous article this is not a scholarly analysis, but rather an amateur’s efforts to share his enthusiasm, and provide entertaining and stimulating reading.

When a break in our work responsibilities allowed it, I and my Geo-X colleagues, Bo Li and Andrew Royle, set off to Zigong, with our generous and gracious hosts from the Sichuan Geophysical Company (S.G.C.), Gang Lin and Zhirong Li. To drive through rural Sichuan is interesting, as one gets a sense of the intensity of human development in one of China’s richest regions. The heavily populated portion of Sichuan is a large basin, flanked by the Himalayan Plateau to the west, the Long Men Mountains to the north, and the Hua Ying Mountains to the south. The Yangtze River flows along the southern edge of the basin, and numerous tributaries drain south through the rich agricultural lands and into the Yangtze . With its fertile, well watered soil, and mild climate, Sichuan is one of China’s most productive farming regions. Since ancient times, Sichuan has been called “heaven country” within China. The most common crops include wheat, canola, rice, cotton, barley, corn, yams, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. On higher, less fertile ground, huge areas are devoted to the cultivation of mulberry bushes (figure 2), which feed one of the world’s oldest and biggest silk producing industries.

Naturally, with such attractive conditions for human habitation, Sichuan has been occupied by humans since the early dawn of our existence. The countryside has been worked by the human hand for so long, that it is hard to spot a single wild area in the basin proper. Even steep hillsides are terraced for farming, and ancient family crypts hewn into rock cliff outcrops can be spotted frequently from the highway. The contrast between the luxury cars speeding along the modern 6-lane highways, and the ancient terraces, tombs and irrigation systems is startling, but one can easily imagine one long continuous evolution of human technology here, from thousands and thousands of years ago, to the present. Many of China’s ancient technical accomplishments came from this region, including sophisticated irrigation techniques, and what I am particularly interested in, their drilling technology.

My reaction on arriving in Zigong was typical for a westerner first visiting China – yet another city of, what - half a million, one, two million people? - that I had never heard of, with big boulevards, high buildings, people everywhere, construction cranes sprouting willy-nilly. The scale of development in modern China is simply staggering.

After a visit to Zigong’s Dinosaur Museum, on par with our Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, and the requisite banquet of incredibly delicious Sichuan food, we arrived at the Salt Museum. The museum is housed in the former Shanxi Guildhall, built in 1736–1752 AD by salt merchants from Shanxi Province to the north (figure 3). The museum and the building housing it easily exceeded my expectations, as this is truly a world class exhibition. The fact that this historical building and the museum itself are still in existence today can be largely attributed to patriarchal leader Mr. Deng Xiaoping, who proposed and promoted this museum in the 1950s.

The earliest evidence of wells in China, in Zhejiang Province, comes from the era when humans were first turning to agriculture in this region, some 7,000 years ago. Approximately 5,000 years ago Chinese coastal people were boiling sea water to produce salt. As high density human settlement penetrated further and further inland and increasingly relied on farming, salt, critical to human survival as a vital food supplement and preservative, became a valuable commodity. The first recorded salt well in China was dug in Sichuan Province, around 2,250 years ago. This was the first time water well technology was applied successfully to the exploitation of salt, and marked the beginning of Sichuan’s salt drilling industry. From that point on, wells in Sichuan have penetrated the earth to tap into brine aquifers, essentially ground water with a salinity of over 50g/l. The water is then evaporated using a heat source, leaving the salt behind.

At some point around 2,000 years ago the leap from hand and shovel dug wells to percussively drilled ones was made (figure 4). By the beginning of the 3rd century AD, wells were being drilled up to 140m deep. The drilling technique used can still be seen in China today, when rural farmers drill water wells. The drill bit is made of iron, the pipe bamboo. The rig is constructed from bamboo; one or more men stands on a wooden plank lever, much like a seesaw, and this lifts up the drill stem a metre or so. The pipe is allowed to drop, and the drill bit crashes down into the rock, pulverizing it. Inch by inch, month by month, the drilling slowly progresses. It has been speculated that percussive drilling was derived from the pounding of rice into rice flour. When I read of this technique in Salt, I imagined a fairly crude technology. I had no idea how sophisticated these drilling methods became, to the point where these people really had developed most of the tools and techniques one might see on a modern drilling rig, albeit on a smaller scale and without the benefits of modern machining methods.

At regular intervals in the drilling, the crushed rock and mud at the bottom of the hole needed to be removed. The drill stem would be pulled from the hole using a large wheel, somewhat similar in appearance to that on a modern flexible cable down hole tool truck. A length of hollow bamboo with a leather foot valve would then be lowered to the bottom of the hole. When the tube was lifted, the weight of the mud inside would keep the valve closed, and the contents could be brought to the surface. Drilling would then recommence.

Figure 5. A series of diagrams showing the steps taken to repair a well bore cave in. The first four steps establish the top and bottom depths of the caved in zone; in the fifth step straw is inserted ~ 1m below the zone, where it expands as it soaks up water and plugs the hole; in step six a material is tamped down above the straw to plug the hole more securely; in step seven repair cement (tong oil + lime) is forced into the cave in zone; finally in step 8 a guided bit drills down through the centre of the repaired zone to reopen the well bore.

The drilling method on its own is impressive, especially when considering that the rest of the world had nothing comparable in the earlier centuries. But even more impressive are all the techniques the Sichuan drillers developed to overcome common drilling problems – cave ins, lost tools, deviated wells, and so on (figures 5 & 6). A huge variety of tools and techniques evolved to handle well repair issues (figure 7). Many different drill bits were also developed, with different sizes, shapes and compositions, to deal with the different rock types encountered, and the many different drilling requirements. For example, opening the hole at the wellhead required a large heavy bit (3m long, 150-250 Kg) called the “Fish Tail” (figure 8); the “Silver Ingot” drilled the well bore rapidly, but roughly; the “Horseshoe” bit drilled slowly, but achieved round, smooth, high quality well bores. Hollow logs were used in the near surface as casing.

Figure 7. A variety of down hole tools on display at the Salt Museum. Upper left a re tools designed to repair the surface of the well bore wall, by scraping off salt build up, reestablishing the correct diameter, etc. Bottom and middle left are lost tool retrieval tools. The rest are drill bits and miscellaneous tools.

A major breakthrough was achieved around 1050 AD, allowing deeper wells, when solid bamboo pipe was replaced by thin, light, flexible bamboo “cable” (figure 9). This dramatically lowered the weight that needed to be lifted from the surface, a weight that increased with the depth being drilled. By the 1700s Sichuan wells were typically in the range of 300 – 400m deep, and in 1835 the Shenghai Well was the first well in the world to exceed 1,000 metres of depth. In comparison, the deepest wells in the U.S. at that time were about 500m deep. The Sichuan salt producing industry was centred around Zigong, and early photographs show hundreds of producing derricks (“heaven carts”; figure 10), salt stove operations, and the Fuxi River jammed with salt trading boats (figure 11). Brine and natural gas were transported through 100s of kilometres of bamboo pipeline (figure 12).

Figure 9. Museum model of flexible down hole bamboo cable and the wheel from which it would be deployed. Deeper wells used a large cylinder with a vertical axis and driven by oxen to deploy cable.

Figure 10. A photo of Zigong early in the 20th century showing many of the derricks used to drill and produce brine and gas wells. Some of these "Heaven Carts" were over 100m tall!

The fuel used initially in the evaporation process was of course wood. Sources of wood became scarce due to the scale of the salt production industry. Some energy saving techniques were used during evaporation: spreading the brine on tree branches under the sun to increase the salt concentration before boiling, and putting several boiling pans on the same chimney path to use residual heat. There are instances of oil and gas production and use in China going back as far as 61 BC, but it appears as if the salt and hydrocarbon industries were separate for a long time. Fortuitously, at some point in the 16th century, techniques to harness the natural gas encountered during drilling for brine were developed, and this allowed natural gas to be burned beneath the big salt pans. It was the coexistence of brine and gas that pushed Zigong’s salt production into the industrial scale. Once wells were able to reach down to 700-800m, they were able to produce both brine and gas from the Jialingjiang group Triassic formations. Annual salt production in Zigong in the 1850s was about 150,000 tons. The Chinese population was about 0.45 billion at that time. The salt industry was a huge economic driver, and many large cities in Sichuan were established, and flourished, because of the lucrative salt trade.

A key technological advance was the introduction of the “Kang Pen” drum at the end of the 18th century (figure 13). This drum sat on top of the wellhead, and the pressure within the drum was controlled such that gas and brine could simultaneously be produced, and efficiently separated. One bamboo pipe line would take away the brine, and others the gas. The 2,000 year plus Sichuan salt industry has drilled approximately 130,000 brine and gas wells, and 10% of those were in the immediate Zigong area. Zigong has a cumulative gas production over this period of over 30 billion cubic metres. The area continues to be a major salt producer, and many of the historical wells are still in production.

One minor detail I found interesting. When I had first read of bamboo pipelines, I wondered how the barriers separating the segments within the bamboo were dealt with. Did they drill holes through these compartment walls with long augur bits to create pipe? My curiosity was satisfied by one of the displays depicting the process of turning bamboo into pipe. Each length of bamboo was cut in half, down its length. The segment walls were removed, and the insides of the bamboo further hollowed out to create a smooth inside surface of constant interior diameter. The two sections were then put back together and bonded with a glue made from a mixture of lime and tree seed oil. It was further bound together with twine inset into grooves in the outside surface of the bamboo, to prevent fraying, especially for down hole use where the hole’s rock walls would scrape against the exterior surface of the bamboo pipe as it was repeatedly lifted and lowered during drilling and production operations. Similar glue and twine techniques were used to link and splice pipe line sections together end-to-end in an airtight fashion. As recently as the 1950s there was still over 95km of bamboo pipeline in operation in the Zigong area.

Figure 13. An ancient sketch originally fro m "The Annals of Salt Law of Sichuan Province". A "Kang Pen" drum is seen in the centre foreground, with gas pipes directly feeding the salt stoves on the right. At the top, brine from a remote well is being carried in buckets by men, who feed it into a bamboo pipeline that runs down to the stoves. One of the carriers is being paid at top left, and it appears that a blow out is depicted on a new well being drilled in the left foreground; maybe the men operating the drill rig have run away, as tragically happened at a Chongqing, Sichuan sour gas well, late 2003.

Being earth scientists, Andrew, Bo and I were naturally curious about the geology of the region, and the knowledge the ancient drillers had of the subsurface. Did they practice geology, or geophysics, in some form? Did they draw diagrams of the sub-surface and choose new drilling locations based on geological models? This is one area the museum displays do not touch on. However, it is known that well locations were chosen based on the distribution of existing gas and brine wells, and on a variety of surface clues. Brine and gas seeps were obvious indicators of a good location. The salt drillers looked for a salt “frosting” on the surface rocks, or the smell of brine. Yellow brine wells (high in ferric chloride) were usually drilled into yellow sandstone outcrops, while black brine wells (containing hydrogen sulfide) were drilled into cracked sandstones with a black crust. Brine only wells were usually drilled on hillsides, while gas producing wells were usually drilled on hilltops, suggesting that the topography reflected the underlying geological structures. However, surface clues would not have revealed much about targets down towards 1000m depth, so we’re left to speculate on whether geological skills advanced along with the drilling technology.

My brief visit to Sichuan left me intrigued, fascinated, and eager to learn more about China’s ancient technical accomplishments. I can highly recommend the region as a place to visit, not only for its interesting historical sites, but also for its natural beauty (most of Sichuan is mountainous and unpopulated, especially the west, with bamboo forests, and panda bears), its rich culture with many interesting ethnic minorities, its delicious food, great shopping, and its wonderful, friendly people. However, the highlight of my trip was the visit to the Salt Museum, and I hope I have passed on my enthusiasm for this topic to readers.