Beijing (Reuters) – The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered an oil field in the South Chinese Sea with proven reserves of more than 100 million tons, the Xinhua news agency reported Monday.
The newly found Huizhou 19-6 oil field is not in a disputed part of the South Chinese Sea and is located in the exclusive economic zone of China, which runs for 200 nautical miles or 370 km from the coast.
The oil field, about 170 km (106 miles) off the coast of Shenzhen, is located on an average water depth of 100 meters, said the report, adding that test drills yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 kubic meters of natural gas.
Huizhou 19-6 is the first large-scale integrated clastic oil field from China in the deep to ultra-deep layers, according to the report.
Such reserves are a challenge for oil and gas exploration, given the high temperatures and pressure exerted at these depths.
China wants to reduce its import dependency to strengthen its energy security, but the import of the crude oil is expected to peak next year if the demand for transport fuel starts to fall for the top oil in the world.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; Edit by Kim Coghill and Sumana Nandy)
