CNOOC Finds Oil in South China Sea Deepwater Field

China’s state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has made a major oilfield discovery in deepwater area of South China Sea, named Kaiping South, adding over 100 million tons of oil equivalent proved in-place volume.

The Kaiping South Oilfield is located in the eastern South China Sea, with an average water depth of approximately 500 meters.

The main oil-bearing plays are Zhuhai Formation, Enping Formation and Wenchang Formation of Paleogene, and the oil property is light crude.

The discovery well KP18-1-1d was drilled and completed at a depth of 3,462 meters, which encountered a total of 100.6 meters oil and gas pay zones.

The well was tested to produce an average of approximately 7,680 barrels of crude oil and 0.52 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Through continued exploration, the proved in-place volume of Kaiping South Oilfield has reached 102 million tons of oil equivalent.

“Kaiping South Oilfield is China's first deepwater and deep-play oilfield with proved in-place volume over a hundred million tons. The discovery fully demonstrates the broad prospects for exploration in deep-water South China Sea and further expands the resource base for the Company's high-quality development,” said Xu Changgui, Deputy Chief Exploration Officer at CNOOC.

“In recent years, CNOOC has achieved remarkable breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration in the eastern South China Sea, building a new growth pole for offshore oil and gas production. The Company remains committed to oil and gas resources exploration and development in the South China Sea, thereby continuously enhancing its energy supply capacity,” added Zhou Xinhuai, CEO and President of CNOOC.

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