China Starts Production At Massive Deepwater Gas Field

China Starts Production At Massive Deepwater Gas Field

China's CNOOC this week started production from the first deepwater gas field it operates fully, Reuters has reported, adding that the field is expected to yield some 4.39 billion cubic meters of natural gas, representing 2 percent of China's total output.

The Chenhai-1 well was drilled at the Lingshui 17-2 field in the South China Sea and, according to CNOOC, could push its total natural gas production capacity to more than 13 billion cubic meters annually.

The launch of production from the Chenhai-1 well is part of CNOOC's plan to boost offshore drilling considerably in a bid to increase the share of natural gas in its total output from 21 percent right now to half by 2035.