ConocoPhillips and CNOOC to harness wind energy to power Chinese oilfield

November 7, 2022, by Nermina Kulovic

ConocoPhillips China (COPC) and CNOOC Limited have officially announced the beginning of the Penglai Offshore Windfarm Pilot Project, which will harness wind energy to power the Penglai oilfield located offshore China.

Wang Dongjin, Chairman of CNOOC (middle), Bill Arnold, President of COPC (second from the left), Sun Xiansheng, Vice President of China Council for International Investment Promotion (second from the right), Zhou Liwei, Vice President of CNOOC (first on the right), Yang Yun, Executive Vice President of CNOOC Limited (first on the left) attended the signing ceremony

The Penglai oilfield is China’s largest offshore oil and gas production base under the Production Sharing Contract, located in Bohai Bay, Northeast China. The Penglai Offshore Windfarm Pilot Project is a joint investment between ConocoPhillips and CNOOC.

As informed by ConocoPhillips, the signing ceremony was held on Sunday, 6 November 2022 at ConocoPhillips’ booth at the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.

“This pilot project represents a first-of-its-kind integration of offshore wind power being harnessed solely for offshore oil and gas facilities in China,” said Bill Arnold, President of COPC.

“We believe it will become a benchmark for future low carbon emission offshore oilfield developments,” Arnold added.

Bill Arnold introduced the sandbox model of Penglai Green Energy Development Project to CNOOC executives - ConocoPhillips — Bill Arnold introduced the sandbox model of Penglai Green Energy Development Project to CNOOC executives

Twenty years after Penglai achieved its first oil, the oilfield is still under various phases of development as the two companies expect a long production life ahead. The newly launched wind farm project offers an optimal solution for meeting the Penglai Oilfield’s power demand, which is expected to increase year by year as development continues, ConocoPhillips said.

Featuring four wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 34 MW, the wind farm ties back to the existing central processing platform via subsea cables, distributing energy to the field’s power grid system. At full capacity, the wind farm will have the potential to cover over 30 per cent of the power needed for the Penglai oilfield’s operations and achieve tens of thousands of tons of annual CO2 reductions.

In addition to offshore wind power, the two companies are closely evaluating opportunities in power from shore, as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). ConocoPhillips believes that, if proven to be technically and economically viable, these low-carbon energy solutions will help transform Penglai towards a net-zero offshore oilfield.