China hits JACKPOT, uncovers 110 million tons of oil in…. Big worry for US, India, Pakistan may benefit

In a major success to China’s economy, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered an oilfield in the South China Sea with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes, Xinhua news agency reported. This find adds considerable weight to China’s push for deeper offshore resource development, a central pillar of its national energy security strategy.

The newly found Huizhou 19-6 oilfield is not in a disputed part of the South China Sea and lies within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which runs for 200 nautical miles or 370 km from its coast.

The oilfield, around 170 km (106 miles) off the coast of Shenzhen, lies at an average water depth of 100 metres, the report said, adding that test drilling has yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic metres of natural gas. Huizhou 19-6 is China’s first large-scale integrated clastic oilfield in the deep to ultra-deep layers, the report said.

The reserves were confirmed through exploratory drilling at the Kaiping South 1-1 well, which reached a depth of 3,462 meters and penetrated a vertical thickness of 35.2 meters of oil- and gas-bearing layers. The well’s location is approximately 300 kilometers off the coast of Guangdong province. The Kaiping South structure belongs to the Enping Sag within the basin, which had already attracted attention due to earlier discoveries nearby.

News