CNOOC Ltd. stated Wednesday Chinese language authorities had authorized the quantity of confirmed pure gasoline in-place within the Lingshui 36-1 subject close to disputed components within the South China Sea, an estimate of greater than 100 billion cubic meters (3.5 trillion cubic toes).
“It’s the first large-size ultra-shallow gasoline subject in ultra-deep water on the planet, which opens up a brand new space of exploration in deep waters”, the oil and gasoline exploration and manufacturing firm stated in an announcement.
After testing, Lingshui 36-1 has been proven to provide over 10 MMcm (353.1 MMcf) per day of absolute open-flow gasoline, stated CNOOC Ltd., majority held by state-owned China Nationwide Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).
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The sector sits within the southern a part of the Central Sag of the Qiongdongnan Basin at a mean water depth of 1,500 meters (4,921.3 toes). Lingshui 36-1 is buried 210 meters (689 toes) deep, “making it a typical ultra-deep-water ultra-shallow gasoline subject”, CNOOC Ltd. stated.
With the brand new reserves, confirmed gasoline within the South China Sea has now exceeded one Tcm (35.3 Tcf), in keeping with the corporate. CNOOC Ltd. stated Lingshui 36-1 is the fifth massive gasoline subject found within the sea after Dongfang 1-1, Liwan 3-1, Lingshui 17-2 and Baodao 21-1. The fields are unfold throughout the Pearl River Mouth, Qiongdongnan and Yinggehai basins.
“The South China Sea trillion-cubic-meters gasoline area has thus develop into actuality” after many years of exploration, CNOOC Ltd. stated.
The Qiongdongnan Basin, which hosts the Lingshui 36-1 subject, sits simply exterior the Paracel islands, in keeping with the USA Vitality Data Administration (EIA). The Paracels are contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
CNOOC has been sanctioned by Washington for allegedly serving to Beijing breach the sovereign rights of neighbors surrounding the South China Sea. “CNOOC has repeatedly harassed and threatened offshore oil and gasoline exploration and extraction within the South China Sea, with the aim of driving up the political threat for international companions, together with Vietnam”, the Commerce Division stated in an announcement January 14, 2021, saying the addition of CNOOC to its Entity Record. The record imposes additional commerce necessities.
Within the assertion Wednesday, CNOOC Ltd. chief govt and president Zhou Xinhuai stated, “The newly found ultra-deep-water ultra-shallow gasoline subject is a vital composition of the trillion-cubic-meters gasoline area within the South China Sea”.
“The completion of the trillion-cubic-meters gasoline area embodies the big achievements CNOOC Restricted has achieved within the South China Sea prior to now 40 years”, Zhou added.
“Now we have now launched into a brand new journey to additional broaden the useful resource base of the Firm. CNOOC Restricted is dedicated to supplying the society with steady clear vitality and contributing to the low-carbon improvement of the economic system”.
The Lingshui 36-1 discovery was introduced June 7, 2024, with the corporate declaring a technical breakthrough in hydrocarbon exploration. The principle gas-bearing play is the Quaternary-age Ledong Formation.
“The exploration in ultra-deep water ultra-shallow gasoline performs within the South China Sea is confronted with world-class engineering and technical challenges”, Xu Changgui, then-deputy chief exploration officer and now chief geologist at CNOOC Ltd., stated on the time.
“The profitable testing of Lingshui 36-1 is a breakthrough for the exploration in such performs”, Xu declared. “The corporate will proceed to sort out the challenges on the exploration and improvement of the sources in such performs, to expedite the utilization of pure gasoline in deep waters”.
That is the second discovery within the South China Sea introduced by CNOOC Ltd. this yr.
Final March it declared a “main” discovery within the Kaiping South oilfield, which sits within the deepwater jap South China Sea. The sector has a mean water depth of about 500 meters (1,640.4 toes) in keeping with the corporate.
Drilled to a complete depth of three,462 meters (11,358.3 toes), the KP18-1-1d discovery effectively encountered 100.6 meters (330.1 toes) of oil and gasoline payzones. The invention added over 100 million tons of oil equal confirmed in-place sources, the primary deepwater deep-play oilfield within the East Asian nation to breach 100 million tons of in-place quantity, in keeping with CNOOC Ltd.
“The principle oil-bearing performs are Zhuhai Formation, Enping Formation and Wenchang Formation of Paleogene, and the oil property is gentle crude”, CNOOC Ltd. stated in a press launch March 8, 2024.
“The effectively was examined to provide a mean of roughly 7,680 barrels of crude oil and 0.52 million cubic toes of pure gasoline per day”, it added. “Via continued exploration, the proved in-place quantity of Kaiping South Oilfield has reached 102 million tons of oil equal”.
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