South China Sea

Quick Guide: Subsea Projects in The South China Sea Oil and Gas Fields

Where is the South China Sea?

The subsea oil and gas projects located in the South China Sea, which is a border sea off Vietnam and southern China, bounded on the east by the Borneo Philippines. Area 3.4 million km2. The South China Sea is a limited part of the Pacific Ocean. The Taiwan Strait connects the South China Sea with the East China Sea. The Strait of Malacca connects the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean. (Place names in the area vary widely, depending on the local language.)

South China Sea Subsea Oil Gas

How deep is the South China Sea?

A large part of the sea is very shallow (about 50 meters), but there are also (in the northeast) areas with depths up to 5000 meters. The ocean currents change with the monsoons, significantly south in winter and north in summer. The temperature in the surface varies a lot with place and time. In summer it is between 26 and 30 ° C, a few degrees lower in winter.

Offshore Oil Projects and Subsea Production Systems

Subsea oil and gas field developments offshore is complicated and it takes years from the initial successful geophysical and seismic surveys to first oil. Exploration drilling and the reservoir can be defined and the volume of oil and gas or condensate can be estimated. The South China Sea Oil and Gas Fields layout can now be developed, including the design of the subsea production systems, suction anchors or suction caissons, pipelines routing and the topside oil production facilities and installations. After all the wells have been drilled and the subsea production systems are installed, the oil production can finally begin.

Subsea Projects and Oil Field Developments

Below is a list of South China subsea oil and gas field developments:

  • Lufeng 22-1 by CNOOC
    field lies 250km south-east of Hong Kong in the South China Sea, in 333m of water. Recoverable reserves are estimated at 30 million bbls, representing a recovery factor of approximately 25% of oil-in-place. Lufeng 22-1, South China Sea, CNOOC, Asia,
  • Liuhua 11-1 by Nooc
    oil field is, to date, the largest oil field in the South China Sea and the reservoir is located in 1,000ft (300m) of water. After preliminary exploration studies, Liuhua 11-1A was drilled. Liuhua 11-1, South China Sea, Nooc, Asia,
  • Malampaya by Shell
    The platform consists of a deck, supported by a concrete gravity sub-structure (CGS). The processed gas will be compressed and exported through a 504km pipeline to the Batangas onshore facility at Luzon Island, in the Philippines. The condensate will be stabilised on the topsides, stored in the CGS and then exported to a shuttle tanker, through ...
  • Wenchang by CNOOC
    In June of 2001, the “Nanhai Endeavor” FPSO hull was launched. The “Nanhai Endeavor” is a turret-moored FPSO designed for typhoon populated areas. With a capacity of 150 thousand dead weight tons, it will play a vital role in the development of the Wenchang oil fields. CNOOC is producing oil from two platforms completed in January ...

More Worldwide Subsea Projects

The database include many more subsea projects which can be can be sorted by oil field areas as listed below. Click on your area of interest to learn more about the projects.