"Mengxiang", which means "dream", is the world's most advanced ship of its kind, state broadcaster CCTV said, with a drilling capacity of 11,000 metres (36,000 feet).
China has increasingly flexed its maritime might in recent years, particularly in the resource-rich South China Sea where it is locked in territorial disputes with multiple countries.
Huge unexploited oil and gas deposits are believed to lie under the seabed there, although estimates vary greatly.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and its increased deployment of vessels and other methods to assert its claims in disputed areas have riled nations across the region, as well as the United States.
"Mengxiang" will leave the southern city of Guangzhou on Friday, CCTV said without giving any details about where the trial would be conducted.
The ship can operate in waters around the world, media reports said, and can stay at sea for 120 days at a time.
It has a range of 15,000 nautical miles.
There are nine laboratories on board, some specialising in marine science and microbiology, CCTV said.
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