CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer, has launched production of heavy crude from its Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project, which is the largest shallow lithological oilfield offshore China, the company has said.
The project in the southern Bohai Sea will see 79 development wells commissioned, including 33 cold recovery wells, 24 thermal recovery wells, 21 water injection wells, and 1 water source well.
CNOOC expects the project to achieve peak production of about 19,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2026. The oil in the reservoir is heavy crude, the Chinese company noted.
Kenli 10-2 Oilfield has proved in-place volumes of crude of 100 million tons, or around 730 million barrels, discovered in the shallow depression zone of the Bohai Bay Basin.
CNOOC, which holds a 100% interest in the project and is the operator, is developing it in two phases. The production platform is one of the most complex of its kind in the Bohai Sea area, as well as the first large-scale thermal recovery platform for heavy oil in the southern Bohai Sea, CNOOC says.