Well site does not sleep during National Day: Daqing drilling workers work hard overnight to interpret the most beautiful responsibility with perseverance

When the city fades away from the hustle and bustle and thousands of houses celebrate the National Day with lights, the field well sites of Daqing Oilfield are still roaring with machines and brightly lit. From October 1st to the early morning of October 2nd, the staff of the Sixth Cementing Team of Daqing Drilling and Cementing Branch stayed on the front line of the 70375 shale oil well construction, completed the difficult cementing operation overnight, and spent the special National Day with persistence at their posts.

Overlooking the vehicle layout at the construction site. Photo courtesy of Daqing Drilling

It was bone-chilling late at night in Daqing in autumn, and strong winds carried sand and soil across the well site. At 13:30 on October 1, all members of the six cementing teams gathered and rushed to the operation site to tackle key well construction tasks. The geological conditions of Well 70375 under construction this time are complex. The completed drilling depth is 5,058 meters and the horizontal section is 2,437 meters long. The construction error tolerance rate is extremely low.

During the construction briefing, Zhang Shouqiu, the on-site commander, repeatedly told everyone: "The safe density window of this well is only 0.08g/cm³, the cement slurry thickening time error cannot exceed ±15 minutes, and the pump pressure can reach up to 36 MPa. A slight fluctuation in parameters may cause well leakage. Every process must be accurately controlled." Strict technical standards require the team to monitor and dynamically control the entire process, and there is no room for relaxation.

Zhang Shouqiu is directing the construction site. Photo courtesy of Daqing Drilling

As night falls, construction work officially begins at the well site. In the cold wind, all team members performed their duties and cooperated tacitly. Team leader Shi Lei is stationed on the drill floor, checking for safety hazards and standardizing the work area throughout the process; operator Li Hongyu keeps an eye on the operating platform to accurately control cement slurry density and displacement; deputy construction officer Shao Binzhe holds construction documents, checks equipment data every two minutes, and follows up on the construction status in real time. The work clothes are covered in dust, the voice is hoarse repeatedly, and no one is slacking off.

During the construction process, there was a sudden pressure fluctuation on site. The team quickly started the emergency plan, divided the work, coordinated the meter comparison, timely adjusted the displacement of the pump truck, checked the construction parameters, and monitored the wellhead status to quickly resolve hidden dangers and ensure the smooth progress of the construction. The temperature dropped sharply late at night in late autumn. The team members' hands were frozen stiff and their breath turned to frost. However, they always stuck to their posts, staring at the screen instruments and recording construction data.

Construction workers are installing cement head instrument accessories. Photo courtesy of Daqing Drilling

After more than ten hours of hard work throughout the night, at 23:00 on October 1, the cementing construction of Well 70375 came to a successful conclusion. At 2 o'clock in the morning the next day, all members returned to the team safely, and the battle at the well site that spanned National Day day and night came to a successful conclusion.

"Only when you guard the well site can you feel at ease." Captain Shi Lei's words were simple and sincere. There are no reunion fireworks, only sticking to one's post; there is no holiday leisure, only hard work and responsibility. On this National Day, Daqing drilling frontline workers, with the stars and moon as their companions and the well site as their home, use precise and professional technology and perseverance to ensure the smooth operation of oil field production capacity, and use hard work to interpret the original intention and responsibility of the oil people. (over)