CNOOC Set to Restore Production at Major South China Sea Gas Field

(Credit: CNOOC)

China's CNOOC plans to resume production at its deep-sea gas field Lingshui 17-2 in the South China Sea in the fourth quarter following an accident earlier in the year, a company executive said during an earnings call on Friday.

The incident, which CNOOC did not provide details of, will have limited impact on its overall output, the official added.

The field, also known as Deep Sea No. 1, CNOOC's first wholly owned and operated deepwater gas field, has an annual capacity to pump 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas under two phases of development.

The project, with an average water depth of 1,500 m (0.93 mile) and located about 150 km (93.21 miles) south of China's southernmost province of Hainan, began production in June 2021.

It is one of CNOOC's biggest gas fields, supplying South China as well as Hong Kong.

Industry publication Energy Intelligence reported in May that a fire and subsequent explosion occurred at the field's second-phase project and forced an operational shutdown.

(Reuters - Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Sam Li; Editing by Joe Bavier)