CNOOC Ltd. announced a major discovery in the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield in the South China Sea. The discovery well produced 413 barrels of oil and 2.41 million cubic feet of natural gas daily. Drilled to 5,415 meters, it found 127 meters of oil and gas pay zones. The field’s proven reserves now exceed 100 million metric tons of oil equivalent, with light crude oil in the Paleogene Enping and Wenchang formations.CNOOC’s chief geologist Xu Changgui highlighted breakthroughs in deep and ultra-deep exploration in the South China Sea.
The Huizhou 19-6 discovery confirms the largest clastic oilfield in the northern South China Sea. CEO Zhou Xinhuai noted this marks two consecutive years of major oilfield discoveries, driving offshore production growth. HZ19-6-3 is CNOOC’s second discovery this year, following WZ10-5-1Sa.CNOOC’s WZ10-5-1Sa well, drilled to 4,840 meters in 37 meters of water, showed a 283-meter pay zone.
It produced 13.2 million cubic feet of gas and 800 barrels of oil daily. This marks a major breakthrough in natural gas exploration in the Beibu Gulf Basin’s granite buried hills. Xu noted the success reveals vast exploration potential for similar fields offshore China.In 2024, CNOOC Ltd. made 11 oil and gas discoveries and appraised 30 structures worldwide. Its proven reserves reached 7.27 billion barrels of oil equivalent, a 7.2% increase year-on-year.
The company continued innovating exploration theories, leading to discoveries like Longkou 7-1, Qinhuangdao 29-6, Huizhou 19-6, and Lingshui 36-1 in China. CNOOC also expanded its global presence, securing petroleum contracts for 10 exploration blocks in Mozambique, Brazil, and Iraq.
