Chinese state-owned producer CNOOC has started output from a new field in northeast China's Bohai bay, the key driver for the country's crude production growth in the next few years.
The BZ 29-4 field, wholly owned and operated by CNOOC, started production yesterday and is expected to reach peak output of 7,800 b/d later this year.
The field is in average water depths of about 22m and is located in the southern part of Bohai bay. It will rely on infrastructure of the already producing BZ 28-2S for its production operations.
CNOOC plans to add more than 100,000 b/d to Bohai bay output this year, with 30,900 b/d from seven new fields and 70,000 b/d from its major offshore discovery Penglai 19-3. But China has made few large upstream finds since Penglai in 1999. Penglai's 135,000 b/d output is expected to hit 150,000 b/d in the third quarter and 180,000 b/d by the end of this year compared with 110,000 b/d at the end of 2009.
But Bohai bay crude production involves numerous technical challenges. Extreme icy conditions in winter forced CNOOC to delay its scheduled ramp-up of Penglai output. The area's complex geology and the density and high acid content of most crude from Bohai require costly investment and operational risks.
CNOOC plans to expand its 240,000 b/d Huizhou refinery in south China's Guangdong province to 440,000 b/d by 2013 to process the additional crude from Penglai.
The BZ 29-4 field, wholly owned and operated by CNOOC, started production yesterday and is expected to reach peak output of 7,800 b/d later this year.
The field is in average water depths of about 22m and is located in the southern part of Bohai bay. It will rely on infrastructure of the already producing BZ 28-2S for its production operations.
CNOOC plans to add more than 100,000 b/d to Bohai bay output this year, with 30,900 b/d from seven new fields and 70,000 b/d from its major offshore discovery Penglai 19-3. But China has made few large upstream finds since Penglai in 1999. Penglai's 135,000 b/d output is expected to hit 150,000 b/d in the third quarter and 180,000 b/d by the end of this year compared with 110,000 b/d at the end of 2009.
But Bohai bay crude production involves numerous technical challenges. Extreme icy conditions in winter forced CNOOC to delay its scheduled ramp-up of Penglai output. The area's complex geology and the density and high acid content of most crude from Bohai require costly investment and operational risks.
CNOOC plans to expand its 240,000 b/d Huizhou refinery in south China's Guangdong province to 440,000 b/d by 2013 to process the additional crude from Penglai.
