China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has commenced production from the Shenhai-1 Phase II natural gas development project.

Located in the Qiongdongnan Basin in the northern South China Sea, the project operates at an average water depth of around 900m.

The Shenhai-1 Phase II development comprises a new fixed production platform and three centralised subsea wellheads.

The project has laid out plans to commission a total of 12 development wells.

By 2025, the project is predicted to reach peak production capacity, estimated at 162mcf of natural gas and 3,931bpd of condensate.

As the sole stakeholder with a 100% interest, CNOOC is also the operator of the Shenhai-1 Phase II project.

CNOOC chairman Wang Dongjin said: “The project has successfully overcome the world-class challenge of deep-water, high-pressure oil and gas reservoir development. It witnesses effective large-scale conversion of reserves into production from the 'South China Sea trillion-cubic-metres-level gas region', and provides stable supply of clean energy for the economic and social development of south China.

“In the future, CNOOC will accelerate the development of new quality productivity of marine energy, and strengthen the exploration and development of deep-water oil and gas resources, thereby further contributing to the high-quality development of China's offshore oil industry.”

Earlier this month, CNOOC started production at the Liuhua 11-1/4-1 oilfield secondary development project.

The project, which includes the Liuhua 11-1 and Liuhua 4-1 oilfields, is situated in an area with an average water depth of approximately 305m in the eastern South China Sea.

The production infrastructure for the Liuhua oilfield secondary development comprises a new deep-water jacket platform, Haiji-2, and a cylindrical floating production storage and offloading unit, Haikui-1.