CNOOC Unveils Major Oil and Gas Find in the South China Sea

On Sunday, the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) revealed an exciting new oil finding in a non-contentious section of the South China Sea.

The newly identified Huizhou 19-6 oilfield sits about 150 nautical miles from Shenzhen, well within China’s exclusive economic zone and away from any geopolitical tensions. CNOOC estimates this field holds around 750 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent—roughly 100 million tonnes. Initial tests showed modest daily production rates,yielding minimal oil alongside approximately 2.4 million cubic feet of natural gas each day. Even though it’s a shallow-water site at just 100 meters deep, drilling down to a depth of 5,400 meters posed significant technical hurdles, according to Xu Changgui, CNOOC’s chief geologist.

“This find has established the largest integrated clastic oilfield in northern South China Sea history regarding original oil reserves,” Xu noted. “It challenges previous theoretical frameworks and highlights the vast exploration opportunities that exist in deep and ultra-deep offshore basins around China.”

This marks CNOOC’s second consecutive year of major discoveries like this one.If these resources can be developed commercially on a larger scale, they could significantly lessen china’s reliance on imported natural gas—currently about 10 billion cubic feet per day or nearly three LNG shipments daily.

However, developing clastic reservoirs such as huizhou 19-6 is no walk in the park; they present unique challenges due to their complexity and unpredictability compared to other types of reservoirs. These formations are made up of geological debris like sand and rock fragments mixed wiht clay and minerals that can vary widely throughout.

Top image: CNOOC headquarters in Beijing (Daniel Case / CC BY SA 3.0)