CNOOC achieves exploration breakthrough in Bohai Bay
Chinese state-backed energy producer CNOOC announced on July 15 that it had achieved a “major exploration breakthrough” in the Mesozoic buried hill offshore Bohai Bay.
The Longkou 7-1 oilfield, located in eastern Bohai Bay, has an average water depth of about 26 m. The discovery well, LK7-1-1, was drilled and completed at a depth of approximately 4,400 m, encountering a total of 76 m of oil and gas pay zones. The well tested to produce about 210 m3/day of crude oil and nearly 1mn m3/day of natural gas, a new record for gas-tested productivity in Bohai Bay, according to CNOOC.
Xu Changgui, deputy chief exploration officer of CNOOC, said, “In recent years, we have continued to make new discoveries in metamorphic buried hills medium-to-deep plays in Bohai Bay. The successful well demonstrates the broad exploration prospect in Mesozoic volcanic rocks in Bohai Bay.”
In May, CNOOC announced the commencement of production at the Bozhong 19-6 gas field's 13-2 Block 5 well site development project in the Bohai Sea. The project is expected to achieve a peak production of approximately 5,800 barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2026.