China Steps Up Exploration of Offshore Oilfields in Bohai Sea

BEIJING (Feb. 8) XINHUA- China is speeding up efforts to explore a group of oilfields, both large and small, in the Bohai Sea in north China, in a bid to develop the Bohai Oilfield into one capable of producing more than 10 million tons of crude a year in early next century.

According to Lin Shaodong, president of the China Offshore Oil Bohai Corporation (COOBC), the corporation has so far verified geological oil reserves of more than 800 million tons in the Bohai Sea.

The COOBC is developing simultaneously the Qinhuangdao 32-6 and Nanbao 35-2 oilfields, two large offshore oilfields each with reserves exceeding 100 million tons, in the central part of the Bohai Sea.

Crude oil turned out by the two oilfields will be piped inland through the port of Jingtang in the city of Tangshan in Hebei Province. The two oilfields are expected to have an annual crude production capacity of four million tons.

Qinhuangdao 32-6 Oilfield, with 170 million tons of verified geological oil reserves, is some 100 kilometers east of Tianjin. Presently, eleven wells have been drilled there.

Nanbao 35-2 Oilfield, lies 20 kilometers south of Tangshan. Four test wells have been drilled and geological oil reserves of 70 million tons have been identified. Nanbao is estimated to have total oil reserves of 110 million tons.

The COOBC president said that the distance between the two oilfields is just 20 kilometers, making it possible for them to develop into a 70-square-kilometer oil-bearing area in the central Bohai Sea.

The two oilfields will begin production in 2003, and are expected to develop an annual production capacity of four million tons by 2004, which will boost the development of a series of small and medium-sized oilfields in the area.

In addition, the COOBC is sinking caissons to build offshore oil platforms at the Jinzhou 9-3 Oilfield in Bohai Bay, said Lin.

He noted that this oilfield, with proven oil reserves of more than 30 million tons, has developed 27 oil wells, 26 water injecting wells, and one natural gas well. It is expected to go into operation by the end of this year.

This year, Lin said, the COOBC will give priority to developing three oil exploration centers in the Bohai Sea area.

They are the Liaobei oil exploration center, consisting of the Jinzhou 20-2 and Jinzhou 9-3 oilfields; the Liaozhong center, based on Suizhong 36-1 oilfield; and the Shijiu center based on Qinhuangdao 32-6 oilfield. Enditem 08/02/99 08:00 GMT