CHINA National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced Wednesday that the world’ first ultra-shallow large gas field on the ocean floor has been discovered near South China’s Hainan Province, the Global Times reported. The Lingshui 36-1 gas field, located in the South China Sea, has proven geological reserves of over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The average water depth of the gas field is about 1,500 meters, and the gas layer is buried at an average depth of 210 meters beneath the seabed. “The proven reserves indicate abundant future clean energy resources, which are significant, given China’s high demand for natural gas and petroleum. With around 40% of China’s natural gas supplies imported, this discovery is vital for ensuring the nation’s energy security,” said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, as quoted by the Global Times. “To ensure offshore drilling safety, the common practice in the industry is avoiding the exploitation of shallow gas fields. But we took the challenge head-on this time,” said Chen Haodong, a CNOOC official. The discovery of Lingshui 36-1 offers valuable insight for similar offshore exploration, and marks a milestone in China’s advancing deep-water exploration technology. In 2018, CNOOC initiated a blueprint to establish a production base in the South China Sea with a trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves by 2025. So far, it has confirmed over 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the Yinggehai, Qiongdongnan, and Pearl River Estuary basins, making the blueprint a reality. In the first half of the year, China’s natural gas production rose 4.4% to 123.5 billion cubic meters, while imports increased 14.8% to 90.2 billion cubic meters. For 2024, consumption is projected at 420-425 billion cubic meters, up 6.5-7.7%. Production is expected to reach 246 billion cubic meters, with a steady growth of over 10 billion cubic meters annually. (SD-Agencies) | 