On January 2, Deep Sea No. 1, China’s largest offshore gas field, completed its 100th shipment of crude oil since being operational. The field’s total oil and gas output in 2025 exceeded 4.5 million tons of oil equivalent, according to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Fully developed by China, the field operates in waters over 1,500 meters deep and faces a formation temperature up to 138 degrees Celsius, which is the deepest and highest among domestic offshore fields. Despite exploration challenges, the rewards are substantial — its reserves surpass 150 billion cubic meters.
Designed for two construction phases, the field houses core components including an energy station and its connections with three existing platforms. All these facilities can process crude oil and gas extracted from the deep sea and conduct on-site separation for subsequent transportation.
Now, the field can produce in a day 15 million cubic meters of natural gas and more than 1,600 tons of condensate oil. The latter is partially stored in tanks within the energy station’s four pillars and is ready for shipment by shuttle tankers once a certain quantity is accumulated.
Personnel on the field have consistently upgraded equipment and machinery, refined production processes based on their production and management experience, and unleashed the great potential of this deep-water oil and gas field. Currently, they have established a comprehensive technology system for production and operation, ensuring oil transportation from the energy station is completed within eight hours.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
