China’s state-owned oil and gas giant, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), announced on Friday that its massive Bozhong 26-6 Oilfield Development Project (Phase I) has officially started production in the northern Bohai Sea.
Located offshore in the central Bohai Bay, with an average water depth of just 20 meters, the Bozhong 26-6 project is set to make waves in the energy sector. The oilfield is expected to reach a peak production of approximately 22,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025. The oil extracted is light crude, which is highly valued in the market.
The Phase I development includes a new central processing platform and an unmanned wellhead platform. “For Phase I of the Bozhong 26-6 Oilfield Development Project, we plan to develop 33 wells and bring them into production,” said Liu Jingliang, director of the Bozhong 26-6 Oilfield at CNOOC’s Tianjin Branch. “The peak daily production of oil and gas equivalent is expected to exceed 3,500 cubic meters.”
The Bozhong 26-6 oilfield boasts an impressive petroleum reservoir with an accumulative 200 million cubic meters, making it the world’s largest metamorphic oilfield. The reservoirs are buried deep beneath the seabed, in hills composed mainly of metamorphic rocks located thousands of meters below the surface.
What’s remarkable is the speed at which this project has progressed. Thanks to standardized engineering practices, it took only three years from the discovery of the oilfield to the commencement of production, rapidly converting reserves into output.
The Bohai Oilfield, where Bozhong 26-6 is situated, has been a significant contributor to China’s energy sector. It currently has more than 50 oil and gas fields in production and over 200 production facilities. In recent years, the oilfield has maintained steady growth, with crude oil production remaining above 30 million tonnes for three consecutive years. The cumulative oil and gas equivalent production has exceeded 600 million tonnes.
The exploration and development of projects like Bozhong 26-6 underscore China’s efforts to bolster its energy resources and meet growing demand. With the addition of this massive oilfield, the Bohai Oilfield continues to solidify its position as a cornerstone of the country’s offshore oil and gas production.
