HOUSTON, Aug. 27 -- CNOOC Ltd. said it made a gas discovery in the South China Sea with Liuhua 19-3-1 wildcat.
The well, about 70 km from the producing Liuhua 11-1 oil field, was spudded in June and drilled to 1,500 m TD.
CNOOC conducted drillstem tests on several intervals. One tested at 49,000 cu m/day (1.7 MMcfd) on a 44/64-in. choke.
"This discovery is encouraging," said Ru Ke, executive vice-president. "Liuhua 19-3-1 is the first wildcat drilled targeting for gas reservoir in the shallow horizons of the area. This indicates the existence of hydrocarbon sources in the area and brightens the prospects of a number of wells planned for the future."
Liuhua 19-3 is in the Eastern South China Sea, about 223 km south of Hong Kong.
China National Offshore Oil Corp. owns 70.6% of CNOOC Ltd., which is incorporated in Hong Kong.
