China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced Tuesday that a newly developed oilfield in the Bohai Sea has started production, marking a significant step in the country's offshore energy exploration.

The Kenli 10-2 oilfield, located in the southern waters of the Bohai Sea, is the largest lithologic oilfield discovered in China's offshore areas, with proven geological reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes.

The initial phase of development will involve the production of 79 development wells, with an anticipated peak daily output of 3,000 tonnes of oil and gas equivalent. The oil field will also have a second phase of development.

The oilfield lies in waters about 20 metres in depth, but presents substantial technical challenges due to its complex heavy oil composition.

To overcome the obstacles, CNOOC created a sophisticated reservoir development technology system specifically tailored for heavy oil extraction. Cai Hui, a CNOOC expert, stated that the system enables the precise mapping of underground reservoir structures and allows for targeted high-temperature steam injection to enhance oil extraction.

"The successful launch of Phase I of the Kenli 10-2 oilfield cluster marks a new era in the development of complex offshore heavy oil reservoirs in China," said Yan Hongtao, Vice President of CNOOC. "It is a key step toward our annual production target of 40 million tonnes from the Bohai oilfields this year."