BEIJING, Jan. 9 -- China's advanced semi-submersible drilling platform on Friday won the country's highest award for progress in science and technology.

The ultra-deep water semi-submersible drilling platform took six years to develop and involved over 100 institutions along with 5,000 staff from the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The platform was designed and constructed exclusively by Chinese engineers.

Lin Yaosheng, a manager in charge of the project, said the platform can go as deep as 3,000 meters, with a drilling depth of 10,000 meters.

The 30,000 tonne platform is 137 meters high--as tall as a 45 storey building--and intended for use in the South China Sea, an area often subject to typhoons and monsoons.

China is the third country after the United States and Norway to design and build an ultra-deep water semi-submersible drilling platform.

The platform has already drilled 17 wells.