CNOOC finds oil in South China Sea deeper-water play

Offshore staff

HONG KONG — CNOOC has confirmed a large oil discovery in the Kaiping South structure in the eastern South China Sea.

Drilling took place in about 500 m water depth, encountering light oil-bearing plays in the Paleogene Zhuhai, Enping and Wenchang formations.

The discovery well KP18-1-1d, completed at a depth of 3,462 m, penetrated a total of 100.6 m of oil and gas pay zones. On test, the well flowed an average of about 7,680 bbl/d of oil and 0.52 MMcf/d of gas.

CNOOC estimates in-place volumes at 102 MMtoe.

Xu Changgui, deputy chief exploration officer, said, "The discovery fully demonstrates the broad prospects for exploration in the deepwater South China Sea.”

03.08.2024