China is on track to achieve a new all-time high in oil production. The country’s mammoth investment to squeeze its crude oil reserves is paying off. Beijing produces around 4.3 million barrels of crude oil every day and in 2025 the figure is expected to rise to 4.5 million barrels, according to data from the International Energy Agency. This makes China one of the largest oil producers in the world (despite the fact that it consumes much more than it produces). Among these investments and efforts to produce more oil, theThe operations in one of the oldest deposits in the country. A site that despite its longevity (it is more than 60 years old) is currently experiencing its best days.
The Bohai field is the largest offshore oil field in China and one of the most productive in the country. Although it was discovered in 1961 and put into operation in 1965, this field in the Bohai Sea basin has undergone notable evolution since then, achieving in 2023 a record daily production of more than 733,000 barrels of crude oil, about one-sixth of China’s total daily production. This field is currently producing more oil than ever due to technological advances and an increase in investment in exploration and development, including the opening of more than 450 new wells in 2023.
However, the big surprise occurred recently. It was not until 2022, according to the agency Reuterswhen andThe Bohai field surpassed what had been the country’s main oil producer, known as the Daqing field, in northeastern China. Daquing has historically been the field in China with the highest crude oil production until Bohai achieved the historic overtake.
Where is this field located? This exploitation is located in the Bohai Sea, a small inland sea that appears at the northern end of the East China Sea (Pacific Ocean), northwest of the Yellow Sea, on the northeast coast of China. This accumulation of seawater has about 78,000 km² and its proximity to Beijing makes it one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world. In recent decades, it has become very important for China, since oil and natural gas deposits have been discovered, such as the one announced in this article.
All in all, the Bohai field has become a strategic asset for China’s energy security over the years. CNOOC, its main operator, has pointed out that this production not only strengthens energy independence, but also contributes to the economic development of urban areas with high energy demand.
The Bohai Oil Revolution
Which It began being considered an unattractive ‘marginal’ deposithas become China’s great source of oil. The Bohai field oil fields were considered marginal assets with relatively high development cost and poor quality of crude oil. But in the last two decades, CNOOC has perfected its exploration and development know-howfor example, shortening the average drilling time from 57 to less than 10 days, and has made several important discoveries, such as the Kenli 10-2 and Bozhong fields. 19-6 that have revolutionized this site.
The strategic importance of Bohai is due to the fact that, although it was discovered several decades ago, its initial development was limited by the geological complexity of the area and the lack of advanced technology. Over time, the implementation of modern techniques has allowed China to better exploit these resources. Besides, Beijing’s plan is to continue investing in infrastructure and technology to reach annual production of 40 million tons by 2025thus ensuring a solid foundation for China’s energy independence and less dependence on crude oil imports. It is estimated that throughout its ‘infinite’ production period, This field has produced a fifth of all of China’s crude oil and half of all the oil in the Bohai Sea.
The discovery of Bozhong 26-6
Although this large deposit was discovered many decades ago, oil is still being searched for in different parts of its vast geography. This is an expensive task, since the waters in the area are relatively deep and it is not so easy to carry out testing and drilling. This same year an important discovery was confirmed. CNOOC announced earlier this year that the Bozhong 26-6 field, located in the Bohai field, It had levels of hydrocarbon reserves that could amount to more than 1,300 million barrels (more than 200 million cubic meters of crude oil), making it the largest metamorphic rock oil field in the world, according to a company statement. oil company and the Government of China. The recent approval of the environmental impact study (EIA) opens the doors for Bozhong 26-6 to begin production in record time, just a couple of years after its discovery in 2022.
In this way, it was confirmed as one of the largest gas and oil fields in the world in metamorphic rocks in a ‘buried hill’ trap (or buried paleorelief). The Bozhong 26-6 field was discovered in 2022 and the latest wells drilled confirm that total proven oil reserves exceed 1.3 billion barrels.
This amount of crude oil would be enough to supply Spain’s oil demand for three and a half years. While the 11,000 million cubic feet of gas serve with current parameters to supply (gas use) a city of one million inhabitants for at least 11 years, according to calculations by the Chinese government.
China is producing about 4.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, an insufficient amount for a country that consumes around 15 million barrels per day. However, the Asian giant’s titanic efforts to produce more crude oil are bearing fruit, although these ‘fruits’ are becoming less accessible every year and have less ‘meat’. The International Energy Agency estimates that China will produce 4.5 million barrels every day in 2025, so the country will continue to be the fifth largest crude oil producer in the world, with pumping very similar to that of Iraq.
#inexhaustible #oil #deposit #breaks #record #spitting #crude #oil #left
