CNOOC Exploits New South China Sea Oilfield -- china.org.cn

China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd) announced Wednesday that it has successfully brought an on stream oilfield in the Western South China Sea.

The oil field, Wei Zhou (WZ) 6-1, is producing over 2,500 barrels of oil per day, according to a company press release.

WZ 6-1 is located in the Beibu Gulf, about 65 kilometers from Beihai City of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The field, with an average water depth of 35 meters, is near WZ 11-4 and WZ 12-1 fields.

According to CNOOC Ltd., there is only one unmanned wellhead platform at the WZ 6-1 oil field. It uses the facilities and subsea pipelines of adjacent WZ 12-1 oil field.

WZ 6-1 is expected to produce 3,700 barrels of oil per day at its peak, said the company.

Liu Jian, Executive Vice President of CNOOC Ltd., said the successful startup of WZ 6-1, a marginal oil field, is further evidence of the company's ability to develop oil and gas resources.

CNOOC Ltd. owns 100 percent of the field.

Incorporated in Hong Kong, CNOOC Ltd. is a 70.64 percent held subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's largest offshore oil and gas producer.

CNOOC Announces 7.5% Growth in Net Output

China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd.) announced on Wednesday that its net oil and gas output in the third quarter increased by 7.5 percent over the same period of last year.

According to a company press release, in the third quarter, CNOOC Ltd. gained a revenue of 18.6 billion yuan (US$2.33 billion), a 25 percent increase over the same quarter of last year.

The company's oil and gas revenue for the third quarter amounted to 18.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.5 percent.

CNOOC Ltd. reported total daily output of 459,460 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in the third quarter, up 7.5 percent year on year.

The company's offshore production grew 7.7 percent to 417,884 BOE per day, including crude oil and liquid products of 350,899 barrels and gas output of 386 million cubic feet per day.

Boosted by fields in the Western and Eastern South China Sea, offshore gas production grew 23.7 percent on a year-on-year basis, said the company.

The average realized oil price in the third quarter was US$61.78 per barrel, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent. The realized gas price was US$3.39 per thousand cubic feet, up 15.3 percent.

The company claimed two new discoveries in the third quarter --Liwan 3-1 and Weizhou 6-12S. Liwan 3-1, discovered by CNOOC's partner Husky, is China's first offshore deepwater discovery.

The company's exploration capital expenditure increased by 35.9 percent to 833 million yuan in the third quarter.

Incorporated in Hong Kong, CNOOC Ltd. is a 70.64 percent held subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's largest offshore oil and gas producer.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)