China richer for another offshore project start-up featuring ‘green’ oil & gas development

Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has kicked off production from an oilfield development project off the coast of China, which comes with new bells and whistles, spotlighting the move toward more sustainable hydrocarbon production.

CNOOC, as the sole owner and operator of the Wenchang 9-7 oilfield development, has brought this project online in the western Pearl River Mouth Basin, within an average water depth of approximately 120 meters. The oil property is light crude.

With the main production facility being a new drilling and production platform, which leverages the adjacent existing facilities for development, 25 development wells are planned to be commissioned, including 18 production wells and 7 gas injection wells.

This project is expected to achieve a plateau production of approximately 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2027. The company claims to have adhered to the concept of efficient utilization of resources and sustainable development by steadily promoting the “green development of offshore oil and gas resources.”

According to CNOOC, the Wenchang 9-7 oilfield development project is the first offshore low-permeability oilfield that utilizes miscible gas flooding technology, which is said to solve the problem of low-permeability reservoirs development and significantly enhance oil recovery.

The Chinese giant highlights its pursuit of efficient recovery and utilization of associated gas as it builds a comprehensive gas network in Wenchang oilfields, with the pipelines being interconnected as flare gas and waste heat are recovered.

By leveraging the gas network, the Wenchang 9-7 oilfield is said to have realized ‘zero flaring’ as it is equipped with what CNOOC describes as the world’s first 5MW offshore high-temperature flue gas ORC power generation unit.

This is expected to generate up to 40 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and slash carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 33,000 tons a year. The project start-up comes shortly after the Chinese player found more oil in the deep and ultra-deep South China Sea plays.

Last month, CNOOC began production from the Caofeidian 6-4 oilfield comprehensive adjustment project and Wenchang 19-1 oilfield Phase II after disclosing an oil and gas discovery at the Weizhou 10-5 oil and gas field in the South China Sea.