"Energy Granary" Takes Root, CNOOC Continuously Improves Its Layout in Tianjin

(Source: Tianjin Radio and Television Station)

CNOOC continues to expand its business in Tianjin, strengthening cooperation with Tianjin Energy and other sectors, and growing the offshore oil and gas industry cluster to serve national energy security.

Zhang Hongguo is an exploration geologist at CNOOC Tianjin. This map shows the seabed topography in the central Bohai Sea. In December last year, they discovered a billion-ton oil field underground near Qinhuangdao. Zhang Hongguo told reporters that oil and gas are mobile underground, and rock faults can block their flow. Therefore, most oil fields gather in areas with rock faults. Over the years of development, easily discoverable oil fields have become scarce. As a result, Zhang Hongguo’s team shifted their approach, repeatedly comparing extensive geological data of the Bohai Sea. In areas traditionally considered unlikely to form large-scale oil and gas deposits, they used artificial seismic wave stimulation to perform underground CT scans of the seabed, identifying many hidden rock formations capable of storing oil and gas. This is also the seventh billion-ton oil and gas field discovered in the Bohai Sea since 2019.

The Bohai Oilfield is the largest offshore oilfield in China and the country’s top crude oil production base. To promote reserves increase and production growth in the Bohai Oilfield, CNOOC has established a comprehensive industrial layout in Tianjin, including Tianjin Company, which focuses on exploration, development, and sales of the Bohai Oilfield; CNOOC Engineering, which designs and manufactures offshore platforms and pipelines; CNOOC Services, engaged in drilling and logging services; and CNOOC Development, which conducts offshore platform equipment R&D and logistics services, forming an industrial cluster in Tianjin. Last year, the oil and gas equivalent production of the Bohai Oilfield reached a record high of 40 million tons, further boosting various business segments. This year, with increased national independent oil and gas exploration efforts, all segments are making efforts in the first quarter. Notably, CNOOC Development will start construction of a new scientific research and pilot testing base in Binhai High-tech Zone at the end of this month, featuring seven key laboratories and three pilot platforms. The first phase will involve an investment of 785 million yuan, mainly to meet scientific research needs related to increasing offshore oilfield production. CNOOC Engineering has improved production efficiency by 30% through intelligent manufacturing technology, with full order capacity. In the first quarter, 21 new units are under construction, surpassing the same period last year.

This year, CNOOC will focus on developing oil and gas fields such as Bohai Middle 26-6 in Tianjin, and will deliver China’s first offshore mobile oil platform. The company will continue investing in Tianjin in areas such as offshore equipment manufacturing, technological innovation, and new energy, promoting energy supply security and industrial upgrading for coordinated development.