New oilfield development project comes online offshore China

December 3, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has brought on stream an oilfield adjustment and satellite fields development project in the Beibu Gulf Basin of the South China Sea, off the coast of China.

Weizhou 11-4 oilfield adjustment and satellite fields development project; Source: CNOOC

While disclosing the start of production at its Weizhou 11-4 oilfield adjustment and satellite fields development project in the Beibu Gulf Basin, CNOOC, as the sole owner and operator, explains that the oil property is light crude.

With an average water depth of approximately 43 meters, the project leverages the adjacent existing facilities for development. The main production facilities entail a newly-built unmanned wellhead platform and a central processing platform connected to an existing platform through a trestle bridge.

The Chinese giant explains that 35 development wells are planned to be commissioned, including 28 production wells and 7 water injection wells. The project is expected to achieve a plateau production of around 16,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026.

“The project has adopted a coordinated development plan of ‘three offshore processing centers + one onshore terminal,’ serving as a gathering and transportation hub to release the resource capacity and ensure stable energy supply in the region,” elaborated CNOOC.

This project has begun production more than two months after the Chinese giant kicked off production from another oilfield development in the Pearl River Mouth basin.