China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced Tuesday that a newly developed oilfield in the Bohai Sea has gone into production, marking a significant step in the country's offshore energy exploration.
The Kenli 10-2 oilfield, located in the southern waters of the Bohai Sea, is the largest lithologic oilfield discovered in China's offshore areas, with proven geological reserves exceeding 100 million tons.
"The Kenli 10-2 oil field project consists of the first and second phases. The initial phase's newly commissioned facilities include a central processing platform and two unmanned wellhead platforms, with 79 development wells planned to go into production. The peak daily output of the oilfield project is expected to reach 3,000 tons of oil and gas equivalent," said Dai Qijia, director of the Kenli 10-2 oilfield project of CNOOC.
The oilfield lies in waters about 20 meters in depth, but presents substantial technical challenges due to its complex heavy oil composition.
"Through persistent efforts to tackle the hard scientific-technological problems and make exploration, we have given rise to the formation of a sophisticated technical system for the development of heavy oil reservoirs. The system enables the precise mapping of underground reservoir structures and allows for targeted high-temperature steam injection into the strata to enhance oil extraction, providing critical technical support for efficient development of the Kenli 10-2 oilfield," said Cai Hui, a CNOOC engineer.
The successful commissioning of Phase I of the Kenli 10-2 oilfield cluster marks the start of a new era in the development of complex offshore heavy oil reservoirs in China, which will powerfully promote China's efforts to realize the goal of enabling the Bohai Sea Oilfield -- the largest offshore oilfield in the country -- to raise its annual oil output to 40 million tons within the year.
China brings major oilfield in Bohai Sea into production
U.S. President Donald Trump posted "Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time!" on social media on Sunday, a message that appeared to signal a possible extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 21, Trump threatened to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if the country fails to fully open the strait within 48 hours. Two days later, he postponed strikes on power plants for five days, claiming to have held productive conversations with Iran.
On March 26, Trump again pushed the deadline back, saying that he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, to April 6, the upcoming Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time. On Saturday, Trump reaffirmed that Iran has 48 hours to strike a deal on opening up the strait or face "Hell."
However, in the post on Sunday, Trump appeared to hint at extending the deadline for Iran to reopen the strait for another time.
In a post earlier Sunday, the U.S. president threatened that Tuesday would be "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one" for Iran, and again urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the threats, Trump said on Sunday that he believes a deal can be reached before the deadline, adding that Iran is currently negotiating. If Iran refuses, he said he is considering bombing everything and seizing Iran's oil.
Ali Abdollahi, chief commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, responded Saturday that the Iranian armed forces would not hesitate for a moment to defend the country's rights and protect national assets and will put the aggressors in their place.
Trump also claimed that earlier this year, the U.S. sent weapons to Iranian protesters through the Kurds, though he believes the Kurds took them.
He also said he was very satisfied with a recent operation to rescue the pilot of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down in Iranian airspace. He said Israel had assisted with the rescue, describing the bilateral relationship as big brother and little brother.
Trump hints at extending deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Trump hints at extending deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
