CNOOC Ltd. announced Friday it has put onstream Bohai Bay’s Bozhong 26-6, which it calls the globe’s largest buried metamorphic hill oilfield.
Producing light crude, the development is expected to reach 22,300 barrels of oil equivalent a day in peak production this year. Bozhong 26-6, which has an average water depth of about 20 meters (65.62 feet), holds over 200 million cubic meters (7.06 billion cubic feet) of proven oil and gas in place, according to the state-backed company.
“Benefiting from the application of standardized engineering, it took only three years from the discovery of the oilfield to production, realizing the rapid conversion of reserves to production”, CNOOC Ltd., majority-owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), said in a press release.
“As one of the demonstration CCUS [carbon capture, utilization and storage] projects of the Company in Bohai, it adopts advanced technology to capture and separate the associated carbon dioxide from crude oil extraction and reinject back into the formation to drive the oil, thereby increasing production while reducing emissions”.
CNOOC Ltd., the field’s sole developer, expects the CCUS component to bury about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide throughout Bozhong 26-6’s life cycle.
The company, which claims to be China’s top offshore producer of petroleum and natural gas, eyes 33 development wells at Bozhong 26-6. Twenty-two of these are for production, 10 for gas injection and one for water access.
The production facilities include a new central processing platform and an unmanned wellhead platform.
“The successful commencement of production of Bozhong 26-6 Oilfield Development Project (Phase I) marks a new stage for the Company in the development of offshore deep play complicated buried hill oil and gas reservoirs as well as the construction of the Bohai CCUS base”, commented CNOOC Ltd. president Yan Hongtao.
“It bolsters the Company’s energy supply capacity and low-carbon development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Bohai Rim regions”.
CNOOC Ltd. has now announced three hydrocarbon production start-ups this year, the other two being the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Development Project and the Dongfang 29-1 gas field, both in the South China Sea.
In 2025 it also expects to start production at the Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project Phase I in China, the Buzios7 Project in Brazil and the Yellowtail Project in Guyana, according to its 2025 plan published January 22.
The plan declared a goal to raise net production to over two million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboed) in 2025.
Output in 2024 is expected to have totaled 720 MMboe, marking a sixth consecutive year of record highs, CNOOC Ltd. said then. It put the total volume goal for 2025 between 760 MMboe and 780 MMboe, of which 69 percent is to come from China.
For 2026, it will aim for 780-800 MMboe. For 2027, the target is 810-830 MMboe.
“The company endeavors to search for large and medium-sized oil and gas fields, to strengthen the resource base for reserves and production growth”, the plan stated. “In 2025, the capital expenditure for exploration in China will mainly be directed to sustain crude oil reserves while expand [sic] natural gas reserves, led by the construction of the three trillion-cubic-meters-level gas regions [in the South China Sea].
“For overseas exploration, the Company will continue to focus on the Atlantic Ocean rim and the ‘Belt and Road’ countries. Drilling will continue in Guyana and rolling exploration is planned in Nigeria. Seismic survey will be conducted in Mozambique and Iraq. At the same time, the company will continue to seek for high-quality acreage, especially operating assets.
“The company will promote exploration and development integration, as well as engineering standardization, to accelerate the conversion of reserves into production”.
CNOOC Ltd. also said it would continue pursuing new oil and gas technology. “Relying on the ‘Hi-Energy’ artificial intelligence model, the Company will facilitate the in-depth integration of digital intelligence technology with the oil and gas business to promote lean management”, it said in the plan.
“The company will drive the integrated development of hydrocarbon sector and new energy sectors”.
Source: by Jov Onsat for Rigzone Staff