First oil flows from Asia’s deepwater revitalization project sporting new platform and FPSO

Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has kicked off production from an oil project off the coast of China, which has been equipped with a platform and floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit as part of the revitalization efforts undertaken at old deepwater oil fields to ensure the country’s energy security.

With an average water depth of approximately 305 meters, the Liuhua 11-1/4-1 oilfield secondary development project in the eastern South China Sea, which has now been brought online, is operated by CNOOC with 100% interest.

Encompassing two oilfields, Liuhua 11-1 and Liuhua 4-1, the project is expected to achieve a peak production of approximately 17,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026. The oil property at the project is deemed to be heavy crude.

According to the Chinese energy heavyweight, the main production facilities entail a new deepwater jacket platform, called Haiji-2, and a cylindrical FPSO Haikui-1, with 32 development wells slated to be commissioned.

With a total weight of 37,000 tons, the FPSO comes with a maximum design displacement of about 100,000 tons, an oil storage capacity of 60,000 tons, and the ability to process approximately 5,600 tons of crude oil per day.

Built by CNOOC’s subsidiary, Qingdao CNOOC Offshore Engineering, the vessel is described as Asia’s first cylindrical FPSO. The Liuhua oilfields in the Pearl River Mouth Basin lie in water depths of up to 430 meters in the South China Sea.

Zhou Xinhuai, CNOOC’s CEO and President, commented: “It is the first oilfield in Asia to be developed with the ‘deepwater jacket platform + cylindrical FPSO’ mode. The company has overcome various technological challenges to complete the project.

“While revitalizing the deepwater oilfields with original oil in place over 100 million tons, the new mode has substantially reduced the construction and production costs. It provides a Chinese solution for the efficient development of similar deepwater oil and gas fields.”

CNOOC has been busy with multiple hydrocarbon exploration and production activities since the start of the year. Last month, the firm disclosed the approval of the proved gas in place of over 100 billion cubic meters at a hydrocarbon discovery, described as the first large-size ultra-shallow gas field in ultra-deepwater in the world.

This is said to add the final touch to the trillion-cubic-meter gas region in the South China Sea.