World’s First Large Ultra-shallow Gas Field Discovered In South China Sea
China’s largest offshore crude oil and natural gas producer announced an important discovery in the South China Sea.
CNOOC Limited confired the Lingshui 36-1 gas field’s proved gas in place, which exceeds 100 billion cubic meters.
The ultra-deep, ultra-shallow gas field, located in the southern portion of the Central Sag, Qiongdongnan Basin, is the world’s first large-scale discovery of its kind.
The field, with an average water depth of around 1,500 meters and a burial depth of 210 meters, has a production capacity of more than 10 million cubic meters per day.
The announcement comes as the South China Sea remains a hotspot of geopolitical tensions.
The discovery of the Lingshui 36-1 field is expected to intensify existing tensions, given the region’s enormous oil, natural gas, and fish resources.
CNOOC estimates that the original gas in place (OGIP) in the Yinggehai, Qiongdongnan, and Zhujiangkou basins exceeds 1 trillion cubic meters.
The discovery of the new gas resource could strengthen China’s energy security, but it may also pose diplomatic and political risks.