CNOOC to use advanced drilling equipment
May 30, 2011 Category Petrochemicals, Weekly
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) plans to put two advanced pieces of deep-water equipment capable of operating at depths of 3,000 meters into service in the South China Sea in the second half of this year, according to Chairman Wang Yilin. The drilling unit, named 981, is nearing completion after more than three years of construction in Shanghai. The 136-meter-high drilling platform, which cost CNOOC CNY6 billion, is expected to begin commercial operations in the northern South China Sea in the third quarter, following testing that will begin in Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province, Jin Xiaojian, General Manger of CNOOC’s Engineering Department, said. The unit was co-designed and constructed with China State Shipbuilding Corp, and will be operated by China Oilfield Services, one of the listed arms of CNOOC. Before the deep-water drilling platform, China was only able to explore, develop and produce off-shore oil and gas at depths of up to 300 meters. CNOOC aims to produce 50 million tons of oil equivalent from the deep-water field by the end of 2020, after reaching its first 50 million tons of oil equivalent from the sea last year. The platform is expected to reach break-even within 12 years. There are around 20 such deep-water semi-submersible drilling units in operation or under construction around the world. CNOOC also announced that China’s first deep-water crane vessel, which can lay pipes 3,000 meters below the surface, is expected to be completed in October. The vessel, like the drilling platform, was one of five types of vessels that CNOOC decided to build with a CNY15 billion total investment for deep-water exploration during the 11th Five Year Plan (2005-2010). The pipe-laying crane, named 201, is expected to start commercial operations in the Liuhua oilfield in the eastern South China Sea late this year, and is set to work in the Liwan 3-1 deep-water gas field next year, China’s biggest off-shore gas field with contingent reserves of up to 170 billion cu m of gas, the China Daily reports. CNOOC is also seeking foreign partners to develop 19 blocks off the Chinese coast. The deepest block reaches a sea depth of 3.5 kilometers. The company will spend CNY350 billion on energy production off the coast in the next five years.
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