China expands its gas resources as new project comes online

Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has brought online a new gas project in the Yinggehai Basin off the coast of China.

CNOOC has brought on stream its 100% owned and operated Dongfang 29-1 gas field development project, which lies in an average water depth of approximately 68 meters. While the main production facilities entail a new unmanned wellhead platform and a submarine pipeline, six development wells are planned to be commissioned.

The peak production of 38 million cubic feet of natural gas per day is anticipated in 2025. According to the Chinese giant, the new unmanned wellhead platform is constructed in a standardized and integrated manner, with the equipment layout optimized to make use of platform space and significantly reduce project investment.

“The commissioning of Dongfang 29-1 will further release the production capacity of the Dongfang gas fields. The company’s offshore gas fields around Hainan Island will continue to provide clean, reliable and stable energy supply for the Island,” highlighted CNOOC.

The produced oil and gas will be connected to the existing facilities of Dongfang gas fields through the submarine pipeline for processing. Over the recent years, CNOOC has been continually tapping the resource potentials of the Yinggehai-Qiongdongnan Basin, to fully utilize the existing production facilities and reduce the development cost of new projects.

The gas project came online less than a month after production started from an oil project in the Bohai Sea, following a new first for China, with the beginning of production at a development said to be the Asian country’s first offshore multi-layer heavy oil thermal recovery project.

Another oilfield project, which recently commenced production, was described as the firm’s first deep buried hill reservoir development in the South China Sea. The firm also kicked off production at one more oilfield development project in Bohai Bay, after beginning natural gas production from a project in the South China Sea.