CNOOC Finds Shale Oil in South China Sea Exploration Well

Friday, July 29, 2022

China's CNOOC Ltd has tapped commercial flows of oil and gas from a shale exploration well in the South China Sea, marking the first successfully drilled shale oil well offshore China, state media reported on Thursday.

Exploration well Weiye-1, sunk at the southwestern trough of Beibuwan basin in South China Sea, tested daily production of 20 cubic meters (126 barrels) of oil and 1,589 cubic meters of natural gas, Shanghai Securities Journal reported.

The whole Beibuwan basin could hold about 1.2 billion tonnes of prospective shale oil resource, the report added.

CNOOC Ltd's press department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under a central government call to boost domestic energy supply security, national oil companies are making greater efforts to tap shale deposits despite their geological challenges and higher cost.

By late 2021 China produced only 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) of shale oil - extracted from shale rocks and is more complex and expensive to produce than conventional crude - mostly in onshore northern Ordos basin and northwestern Jungar basin.

That equates to less than 1% of its total oil output.


(Reuters - Reporting by Chen Aizhu)

Categories: Drilling Activity Oil Asia Natural Gas China Shale

Related Stories

Valeura Boosts Production at Jasmine Field with Five New Wells Now Onstream

Sapura Scoops Petrobras Contract for Pan-Malaysia Offshore Services

Velesto’s Drilling Rigs Up for Automatization Overhaul Under New Tech Alliance

Malaysia's FPSO Firm Bumi Armada Eyes Merger with MISC’s Offshore Unit

Blackford Dolphin Kicks Off Long-Term Drilling Campaign Offshore India

Shelf Drilling Secures $200M Contract Extensions with Chevron for Thailand Ops

Eni Strengthens LNG Ties with Japan

India Opts Out of Buying Gas from Russia's Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Project

Korea's Hanhwa Sets Out Plan for Full Takeover of Singapore's Dyna-Mac

CNOOC Brings Online Another South China Sea Field

Current News

Offshore Drilling 2025: 3 Things to Watch During a Year of Market Corrections

Subsea Redesign Underway for Floating Offshore Wind

The Five Trends Driving Offshore Oil & Gas in 2025

China’s CNOOC Brings Bohai Sea Oil Field On Stream

Offshore Service Vessels: What’s in Store in 2025

ABS Approves Hanwha Ocean’s FPSO Design

AI & Offshore Energy: The Higher the Stakes, the More Value AI Creates

Floating LNG Conversion Job Slips Out of Seatrium’s Hands

Transocean’s Drillship to Stay in India Under New $111M Deal

INEOS Picks Up CNOOC’s US Assets in $2B Deal

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com