China National Offshore Oil Corporation announced on Wednesday that the first phase of the Kenli 10-2 oilfield cluster — the country's largest offshore shallow-layer lithological oilfield — has fully commenced production.

Located in the southern Bohai Sea, the field boasts proven geological reserves exceeding 100 million metric tons. It currently yields over 2,800 tons of crude oil daily, bolstering the Bohai Oilfield, China's largest crude production base.

The phase one project features a new central processing platform, two unmanned wellhead platforms, and 79 development wells. Notably, Kenli 10-2 marks China's first offshore development of a "branch-like" heavy oil reservoir, characterized by scattered, narrow, thin, and complex sand bodies.

To tackle these geological hurdles, CNOOC adopted an innovative joint development model combining both cold and thermal recovery methods. The engineering team deployed a tailored "one sand, one reservoir, one well network" strategy, achieving breakthroughs in shallow extended-reach horizontal wells, deep directional wells, and thermal recovery techniques. The maximum horizontal displacement crossed 3,000 meters.

With 33 cold recovery and 24 thermal recovery wells now smoothly operational, the project pioneers a technical framework for extracting complex offshore heavy oil, further enhancing domestic energy supply.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn