Deep-sea oil and gas become an important growth engine

NightAirdropper · 2026-03-16T23:34:21+00:00

China's marine oil sector is expected to achieve major breakthroughs in 2025, including production of over 4.5 million tons from the "Deep Sea One" gas field and 40 million tons from the Bohai oilfield, with sustained increases in offshore oil and gas production rates. With new discoveries and technological advances, marine oil and gas resources have enormous potential and are expected to account for an important share of the country's oil production growth.

NightAirdropper

2026-03-16 23:34:21

Abstract generation in progress

Recent data released in China’s offshore oil and gas sector show great potential for deep-sea energy:

By 2025, China’s largest offshore gas field, “Deep Sea No. 1,” will produce over 4.5 million tons of oil equivalent, comparable to medium-sized onshore oil fields. China’s deep-sea gas field production, operation, and maintenance technology will reach world advanced levels.
By 2025, the offshore gas fields around Hainan Island, including “Deep Sea No. 1,” will have a cumulative oil and gas production exceeding 10 million tons of oil equivalent, doubling the output by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. Over 90% of the region’s new oil and gas production will come from deep-sea sources.
By 2025, China’s largest offshore oil field—the Bohai Sea Oil Field—will have a cumulative oil and gas equivalent production surpassing 40 million tons, setting a new record. The Bohai Sea Oil Field currently has more than 60 producing oil and gas fields and over 200 production facilities, with total crude oil production exceeding 600 million tons.

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Energy Economics Research Institute recently released the “China Marine Energy Development Report 2025,” showing that China’s offshore oil production will reach approximately 68 million tons in 2025, an increase of about 2.5 million tons year-on-year, accounting for about 80% of the country’s total oil growth.

The report indicates that in 2025, China will continue to intensify offshore exploration, solidifying the resource base for offshore oil and gas reserves and production. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, five new discoveries were made in Chinese waters, 22 oil and gas structures were successfully evaluated, and 11 new projects were put into production. Significant breakthroughs were achieved in the Beibu Gulf Basin’s deep and ultra-deep strata, including the discovery of China’s first deep-to-ultra-deep layered shale oil field—Huizhou 19-6 Oil Field.

According to data from the National Energy Administration, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s oil and natural gas production has steadily increased, with offshore crude oil becoming an important “growth pole,” accounting for over 60% of the country’s new oil production for five consecutive years.

It is understood that “Deep Sea No. 1” is China’s most independently developed offshore gas field to date, with the deepest operational water depth, highest formation temperature and pressure, greatest exploration and development difficulty, and largest natural gas capacity. The maximum water depth exceeds 1,500 meters, the highest formation temperature reaches 138°C, and proven geological reserves of natural gas exceed 1,500 billion cubic meters. The two core facilities, the “Deep Sea No. 1” Energy Station and the “Four-Star Constellation” platform cluster, have basic deep-sea oil and gas processing capabilities, enabling on-site separation and export of natural gas and crude oil.

Li Jinsong, General Manager of China Oil Lingshui-Yacheng Operations, introduced that “Deep Sea No. 1” produces 15 million cubic meters of natural gas and over 1,600 tons of condensate oil daily. Some condensate oil is stored in oil tanks on four platform legs and, once reaching a certain scale, is transported by shuttle tankers—one of the three world-first technologies of the “Deep Sea No. 1” Energy Station. In 2025, the annual natural gas production of the gas field will reach 5 billion cubic meters for the first time, surpassing the project’s designed capacity peak.

Looking ahead, China National Offshore Oil Corporation plans to widely promote the production and operation technology system developed during the “Deep Sea No. 1” project to further develop other deep-sea oil and gas structures.

A relevant person from CNOOC stated that since the 14th Five-Year Plan, CNOOC has followed the “Seven-Year Action Plan” for increasing reserves and production of domestic oil and gas. They have conducted in-depth analysis of resource conditions in the Yinggehai Basin, Qiondongnan Basin, and Pearl River Estuary Basin, continuously increased exploration and development efforts, accelerated offshore energy infrastructure construction, and systematically tackled complex conditions such as deep water, high temperature and pressure, and low formation permeability. They have established China’s largest offshore natural gas production cluster in waters including Lingshui, Dongfang, Ledong, Yacheng, and Wenchang, comprising 19 offshore platforms, three land terminals, and numerous subsea production facilities. Currently, there is still room for further improvement in China’s offshore oil and gas exploration and development, with significant resource potential, requiring ongoing efforts to increase reserves and production. (Huang Xiaofang)

Editor: Yan Hongxu

【Source: Economic Daily】

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.

2 Likes