Major Oilfield Discovery in South China Sea by CNOOC

Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has announced a significant oilfield discovery in the deep and ultra-deep South China Sea plays.

Located in the eastern South China Sea, the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield has proven to be a game-changer for CNOOC. This discovery has added over a hundred million tons of proved in-place oil equivalent to the company’s reserves. The main oil-bearing plays in the field are the Paleogene Enping Formation and Wenchang Formation, which contain light crude oil.

The breakthrough came with the drilling of the discovery well HZ19-6-3 using the Haiyangshiyou 943 rig. This well, completed at a depth of 5,415 meters, revealed a total of 127 meters of oil and gas pay zones. Testing confirmed a daily production capacity of 413 barrels of crude oil and 2.41 million cubic feet of natural gas.

CNOOC’s Chief Geologist, Xu Changgui, expressed his excitement about the discovery, stating, “This discovery has confirmed the largest integrated clastic oilfield in the northern South China Sea, showcasing the enormous exploration potential of deep and ultra-deep plays in high-temperature and highly active basins offshore China.”

CNOOC’s CEO, Zhou Xinhuai, highlighted the eastern South China Sea as a new growth area for offshore oil and gas production. Noting the discovery of several oilfields with a hundred-million-ton oil in-place for two consecutive years, Xinhuai emphasized the region’s potential.

This recent discovery adds to CNOOC’s busy month, with the commencement of production from the Caofeidian 6-4 oilfield comprehensive adjustment project and Wenchang 19-1 oilfield Phase II. Additionally, a significant oil and gas pay zone of 283 meters was identified at the Weizhou 10-5 field in the Beibu Gulf of the South China Sea.