China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd)
announced Monday that its independent oil field in the eastern
South China Sea has successfully begun production.
The oil field, Lufeng (LF) 13-2, is flowing about 18,000 barrels
of oil per day from three horizontal wells (Horizontal wells offer
significant cost-savings and technical advantages over conventional
vertical wells). The production capacity of these wells is tested
at 30,000 barrels of oil per day.
LF13-2 is located in the western part of Block LF 08 in the
mouth of Pearl River Basin with a water depth of approximately 132
meters. The field is about 210 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong
and 12 kilometers northwest of another field, LF13-1.
Major production facilities of the project include a wellhead
production platform, a 12-kilometer underwater pipeline and cables.
The crude drilled will be transported to and processed in
LF13-1.
LF13-2 is the first project developed by CNOOC Ltd independently
in the eastern South China Sea.
CNOOC Ltd, incorporated in Hong Kong, is a 70.64 percent held
subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's
largest offshore oil producer.
CNOOC Ltd is the sole vehicle through which CNOOC carries out
oil and gas exploration, development, production and sales.
CNOOC Ltd owns and operates LF13-2. In the past,
CNOOC's technology capability limitations meant that most of the
fields in the eastern South China Sea were developed and operated
jointly with international partners.?
The successful start-up of the project has laid a solid basis
for CNOOC to achieve its goal of producing 55 million cubic meters
of oil and gas by 2010, said a senior manager with CNOOC Ltd.
To date, the eastern South China Sea has seen its annual oil and
gas yield surpass 10 million cubic meters for 10 consecutive years,
making it the fourth largest oil field in the country.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)