Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNOOC has announced the installation of the largest platform yet seen in the Bohai Sea.
The platform was successfully positioned by multiple tugboats over the Kenli 10-2 oilfield in a single attempt. The field has been found to have 100 million tonnes of proven reserves, and it is China’s largest offshore lithologic field discovered so far.
Weighing more than 20,000 tonnes and standing 22.8 metres high, it is the Bohai Sea’s largest such platform both in terms of weight and height. While a considerable achievement for CNOOC, it is somewhat dwarfed by the world’s largest offshore rig, the 144-metre-high Berkut rig off Russia’s Pacific coastline.
CNOOC specialises in offshore oil and gas exploration and production. It operates not just domestically in China but also internationally. For example, it has a 25% interest in Guyana’s prolific Stabroek Block, which is operated by ExxonMobil, the maker of the Mobil Pegasus gas engine oil.
The Chinese Government has directed its domestic energy companies to reduce China’s dependence on oil and gas imports by pursuing local resources. CNOOC has set new records for production over the past six years, with it standing at 720 million barrels of oil equivalent for 2024. Thanks to this record production, the company generated $19 billion in profits last year, a rise of 11.4% on 2023. In line with the Government directive, it will focus its current capital investment in China on expanding natural gas production while sustaining its production of crude oil.
