 "China’s CNOOC discovers 100 million tonnes of oil in offshore drilling breakthrough")
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered an oilfield in the South China Sea with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
The newly found Huizhou 19-6 oilfield is not in a disputed part of the South China Sea and lies within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which runs for 200 nautical miles or 370 km from its coast.
The oilfield, around 170 km (106 miles) off the coast of Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, sits at an average water depth of 100 metres, the report said, adding that test drilling has yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic metres of natural gas.
According to the company, offshore oil and gas exploration in deep to ultra-deep strata presents several hurdles, including high temperatures, high pressures, and complicated circumstances.
Huizhou 19-6 is China’s first large-scale integrated clastic oilfield in deep to ultra-deep strata, according to the study.
Given the high temperatures and pressures present at these depths, such reservoirs are difficult to explore for oil and gas.
China aims to reduce its reliance on imports to improve its energy security, but crude oil imports are likely to peak as early as next year as transportation fuel demand begins to fall for the world’s largest oil customer.
China’s oil and gas exploration in the eastern South China Sea has experienced successive breakthroughs, with oilfields exceeding 100 million tonnes in reserves identified over the past two years, according to CNOOC CEO Zhou Xinhuai.
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