China to Accelerate Offshore Energy Search
China plans to accelerate geological exploration and survey work for oil and natural gas to ease its rising reliance on energy imports, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources, which intends to draw up strategies to achieve breakthroughs in exploration, energy efficiency and replacements for oil and gas. The ultimate goal is to cut China's expanding dependency on foreign oil and to guarantee energy security. In 2011, China's new proven geological reserves of oil and gas reached 1.37 billion tons…
China's Smallest Offshore Oilfield Starts Operation
China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, has begun producing oil at the smallest offshore oilfield China has discovered, according to reports. It is widely considered that the smaller an oilfield is, the more difficult it is to explore it. Industry experts believe that if an offshore oilfield has a workable reserve of less than 3 million cubic meters, it is too costly to be explored. Dubbed Bozhong 34-5, the small oilfield has a workable reserve of only 1.8 million cubic meters, according to Zhou. Founded in 1982, the CNOOC has built 51 oilfields and gas fields. Source: Xinhua
