CNOOC confirms large oil discovery at Huizhou 19-6 offshore China

CNOOC has discovered the largest integrated clastic oil field in the eastern South China Sea, with in-place reserves of more than 100 MMtons of oil equivalent.

The Huizhou 19-6 oil field is in average water depths of about 100 m. Main oil-bearing plays are the Paleogene Enping and Wenchang formations.

Well HZ19-6-3, drilled and completed at a depth of 5,415 m, encountered 127 m of oil and gas pay zones. During testing, the well flowed 413 bbl/d of light crude and 2.41 MMcf/d of gas.

Chief geologist Xu Changgui said, “In recent years, CNOOC has strengthened the research on exploration theory and technology of the deep and ultradeep plays in the South China Sea.”

This discovery, he added, demonstrates “the enormous exploration potential of deep and ultradeep plays in high-temperature and highly active basins offshore China.”