(ECNS) -- China has set a new record by surpassing 1,000 offshore drilling wells in 2024, marking a significant achievement in energy technology and reinforcing its position as a global leader in offshore exploration.
Li Zhong, chief engineer at the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Research Institute Co., Ltd., noted that China’s offshore oil drilling achieved record performance last year in key indicators, including daily drilling efficiency, production uptime, and reduced downtime.
Offshore drilling and well completion are characterized by high risks, costs, and technical demands. Since the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the CNOOC has achieved significant breakthroughs in drilling and well completion technologies, with the annual number of offshore wells in China growing by more than 60 percent compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
In 2024, application of these key technologies was implemented across 238 wells, optimizing the total by 52. This resulted in an increase of 10,319 cubic meters per day in oil production and 6.24 million cubic meters per day in gas production.
Tech innovations have also enabled oil and gas exploration and development in challenging areas, including restricted offshore regions, high-temperature and high-pressure environments, deepwater, and low-permeability fields.
China successfully completed drilling its highest-pressure deep-water well at the A12 offshore gas field in the South China Sea’s Hainan Province in August 2024. This well is part of Phase II of the country’s first independently developed ultra-deepwater gas field, Deep Sea No. 1.
The well’s total depth exceeds 60,000 meters, nearly equivalent to the height of seven Mount Qomolangma peaks.
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