China National Offshore Oil Co., or CNOOC, said on Jan. 18 it aims to double its exploration activities and proven oil and gas reserves in China over the next seven years, a target that will see the state oil firm expedite capital spending.
This comes after President Xi Jinping’s call last August to improve national security by boosting domestic production and reserves, CNOOC said in a report published on its official social media account.
CNOOC, parent of CNOOC Ltd., did not give details about where it would explore or breakdowns of reserve targets on crude oil and natural gas.
CNOOC will be able to double its natural gas reserves over the period as its current reserve base is small, but it will be a challenge to deliver on oil due to lack of sizeable discoveries in the pipeline and relatively higher reserve base on oil, analysts at consultancy Wood Mackenzie said.
“Doubling both oil and gas proven reserves will be harder and would require several large oil discoveries, the size of Lingshui, to achieve and higher investment commitments,” said Angus Rodger, Woodmac’s research director for Asia-Pacific upstream business.
He was referring to CNOOC’s deepwater gas discovery Lingshui 17—2, 150 kms off China’s southernmost province of Hainan, that has proven geological reserve of over 100 billion cubic meters.
As its shallow-water basins mature, CNOOC will increasingly shift focus to deepwater exploration.
Source:epmag
