CNOOC sources abundant deposits in Bohai

CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp has sourced an abundant field in the Bohai Sea area, with a daily output of natural gas that may hit 7,000 cubic meters, Xinhua news agency reported today. The new discovery may also generate more than 620 barrels of crude oil a day, according to CNOOC, the country's biggest offshore oil producer. The drilling rig is located just offshore of Bohai, near China's northeastern Liaoning Province, where water is around 30 meters deep. Workers dug approximately 2,395 meters to reach the source, the newspaper said. "The exploit of oil and natural gas resources conducted by CNOOC is smoothly developing," said Zhu Weilin, exploration manager from the oil corp. "Another three discoveries have also enlarged the company's deposit in Bohai." CNOOC possesses most of the deposits in Bohai Sea bay, one of the main exploit areas for oil and natural gas in China. The company, until last year, detected 1 billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas in the area, with a daily output equivalent to around 187,000 barrels. China, the world's second largest energy consumer after the United States, wants its oil companies to speed up exploration and boost production to meet the demand in an economy that grew 10.3 percent in the first quarter. CNOOC, which failed in its attempt last year to buy US oil and gas producer Unocal Corp, has invested at least US$2.7 billion in projects abroad including oil fields in Nigeria and gas ventures in Australia.