The deep water block 42/05, which was signed into a product sharing contract, is located in Baiyun Sag in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the eastern part of the South China Sea. It covers an area of ​​approximately 6,939 square kilometers and has a water depth of 300 to 2,000 meters. During the exploration period, the United States Dan Wen Company, which is known for its oil and gas exploration and production, will conduct 3D seismic data acquisition and drill pre-exploration wells, and the exploration costs will be borne by Dan Wen Company 100%. CNOOC Limited will have the right to participate in up to 51% of all commercial oil and gas discoveries in this contract area. CNOOC and Danwen have a good foundation for cooperation. The two parties have successfully developed the Panyu 4-2/5-1 oil field in the 15/34 contract area, which was put into operation in 2003.
It is understood that for a long time, due to the great risk of deep-water exploration, due to the limitation of offshore oil exploration and development technologies, offshore oil development in China is mainly in the offshore shallow water region, and all oil and gas fields have not reached the deep-water standard. However, this situation is gradually improving. With the high oil prices and improvements in exploration technology, deepwater oil exploration has become a focus of many oil companies.
CNOOC stated that deep-water mining will be one of its major development directions in the future. The South China Sea, where oil and gas is rich, has become a pilot field for deepwater exploration. It is reported that CNOOC will soon begin cooperation with Husky Energy of Canada in the deepwater oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.
The eastern part of the South China Sea is one of the earliest sea areas jointly developed with foreign oil companies in China, and has become an important oil and gas production area in China. Since 1996, it has exceeded 10 million cubic meters of oil and gas for 10 consecutive years. The Lufeng 13-2 oil field, which was successfully put into operation recently by CNOOC, is the first self-developed oil field in the eastern part of the South China Sea. According to data from the Ministry of Land and Resources, there are more than 200 oil and gas structures and 180 oil and gas fields in the South China Sea. The total oil geological reserves in the entire South China Sea range from 23 to 30 billion tons, accounting for about one-third of China's total resources. It is also known as the 'second Persian Gulf'.
Chinese and U.S. Companies Join Hands to Create the First Deepwater Field in China
The reporter learned from the China National Offshore Oil Corporation on December 9 that the company has signed a product sharing contract with the United States Danwen Energy Company on the joint development of the oil and gas resources in the deepwater block of the eastern part of the South China Sea. CNOOC Limited will have the right to participate in up to 51% of all commercial oil and gas discoveries in this contract area. If exploration and development can proceed smoothly, South China Sea will form China's first deep-water oil and gas field.