The discovery of a significant oil field is set to add over 100 million tons of oil to existing reserves. The well, named KP18-1-1d, was drilled at a depth of 3,462 meters and subsequent tests indicated an average production rate of 7,680 barrels of crude per day, as well as .52 million cubic feet of natural gas.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), established in February 1982, has grown into a state-owned conglomerate with five listed companies. According to the company's overview page, CNOOC operates not only in oil and gas exploration and development but also in refining product sales and fertilizers, natural gas production and power generation, and offshore wind power.
Zhou Zinhuai, president and CEO of CNOOC Limited stated in a news release on March 7: "In recent years, CNOOC Limited has achieved remarkable breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration in the eastern South China Sea, building a new growth pole for offshore oil and gas production. The Company remains committed to oil and gas resources exploration and development in the South China Sea, thereby continuously enhancing its energy supply capacity."
In China, according to the company's operating areas page, CNOOC conducts independent operations alongside cooperative projects for oil and gas exploration. To manage these cooperative projects, they utilize product sharing contracts. Current work is ongoing in Bohai, the East China Sea, the Western South China Sea, the Eastern South China Sea; there are also onshore natural gas explorations taking place in the Qinshui Basin and on the eastern edge of the Erdos Basin.
Internationally, CNOOC has projects located across Oceania, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Indonesia, Nigeria, Uganda; they also have presence in North America where they own two onshore shale oil and gas projects along with two offshore deepwater projects situated in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the same March 7 news release, Xu Changgui, deputy chief exploration officer at CNOOC, stated: "Kaiping South Oilfield is China's first deep-water and deep-play oilfield with proved in-place volume over a hundred million tons. The discovery fully demonstrates the broad prospects for exploration in deep-water South China Sea and further expands the resource base for the Company's high-quality development."