Chinese firm kicks off production from another oilfield project in Bohai Sea

China’s oil and gas player CNOOC Limited has started production from another oilfield development project in the Bohai Sea. The project represents the sixth that the company brought on stream offshore China since September.

CNOOC revealed on 26 December that the Kenli 6-1 oilfield 5-1, 5-2, 6-1 block development project, located in the south of Bohai Sea in an average water depth of around 19 meters, had commenced production.

The main production facilities include one central platform and six unmanned wellhead platforms, with 107 development wells planned to be commissioned, including 67 production wells, 36 water injection wells and four water source wells.

The project is expected to achieve its peak production of approximately 36,100 barrels of crude oil per day in 2024.

According to CNOOC, Kenli 6-1 oilfield 5-1, 5-2, 6-1 block is the main area of the Kenli 6-1 oilfield, which is the first large-scale shallow lithological oilfield with a reserve of 100 million tons discovered in Laibei lower uplift in the Bohai Sea.

CNOOC Limited holds a 100 per cent interest in the project and acts as the operator. The project is said to represent the first time the Chinese company had installed standardized unmanned platforms on a large scale in the Bohai Sea.

The news comes a month after CNOOC started production from the Jinzhou 31-1 gas field development project, also located in the Bohai Sea, and 20 days after the Chinese player kicked off production from a joint development project located in the Eastern South China Sea.

The developments are said to be in line with the company’s 2022 Business Strategy and Development Plan, regarding plans to increase oil and gas production in the next three years.