New CNOOC development project in South China Sea marks key offshore milestone

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has officially launched its adjusted joint development project at the Panyu Oilfield in the South China Sea, marking a significant advancement in China's offshore oil production.

Located about 200 kilometers southeast of Shenzhen, in the Pearl River Estuary Basin of south China's Guangdong Province, the project officially began production on Thursday, according to CNOOC.

The development integrates a newly constructed Panyu 10-1 wellhead platform with the existing Panyu 10-2 platform, along with a new unmanned Panyu 11-12 platform.

Together, these platforms will support 15 oil production wells across the Panyu 10-1, 10-2, and 11-12 oilfields. Once fully operational, the project is expected to produce nearly 2,000 tons of crude oil per day.

"By leveraging intelligent technologies like power networking, 5G communication, and subsea pipeline and cable laying, we've established a multifunctional network that connects with the existing production facilities at the Panyu Oilfield, forming an intelligent oilfield cluster that integrates digitalization, automation and unmanned operations," said Wang Shengdong, general manager, Panyu Operations Company, CNOOC Shenzhen Branch.

In particular, the Panyu 11-12 platform is the first of its kind in China to remotely develop offshore heavy oil fields using unmanned platforms.

The platform can be operated under the "typhoon production mode," allowing for remote operation from land after evacuating offshore personnel during a typhoon. Using satellite transmission, this mode ensures minimal or no production downtime during adverse weather conditions.

The Panyu 11-12 platform also integrates advanced systems for oil and gas separation, heating, and boosting, all of which can be controlled remotely from both the central platform and a land-based control center.

Additionally, the platform has the capability to perform complex tasks, such as remote logging, well killing, and resuming production, making it a crucial innovation for improving both operational efficiency and safety in challenging offshore environments.

New CNOOC development project in South China Sea marks key offshore milestone

A zero-carbon project designed for a desert highway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has reached a new milestone of generating 15 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity since its launch, according to PetroChina on Monday.

The Tarim Desert Road, the first highway across the Taklimakan, China's largest desert, saw its construction completed in 1995.

In 2005, a 436-km-long shelterbelt was planted on both sides of the road to protect it from being eroded by sand in the world's second-largest shifting-sand desert, and 109 well stations were built for irrigation, all powered by photovoltaic green electricity.

In 2022, PetroChina's Tarim oilfield branch launched the zero-carbon transformation project, which sought to alter all the diesel power generators into photovoltaic power-driven ones.

In addition to the diesel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced with the help of the project, CO2 captured by the shelterbelt can surpass 20,000 tonnes each year. It can help neutralize the CO2 emitted by passing vehicles, thus making it a zero-carbon road.

Photovoltaic project in Xinjiang desert hits new milestone in green power generation