CNOOC develops own Xmas subsea extraction system
China's CNOOC has initiated its first internally-developed subsea Christmas tree extraction system at its Jinzhou 31-1 gas field in the Bohai Sea, Global Times reported July 18.
Subsea Xmas trees are used in the industry to connect entire systems of valves, flow paths, piping and connectors within a single subsea wellhead.
CNOOC's implementation is the first to be designed by its own engineers. It has a trial production capacity of 310,000 m3/day, sufficient to meet gas consumption for 1,500 Chinese households. CNOOC says the system is suitable in shallow water, with an estimated operating life of 15 years.
Company officials say the self-built extraction system may be rolled out to other oil and gas blocks in the Bohai Sea area, potentially lifting the region's annual hydrocarbon output by more than 40mn metric tons of oil equivalent.