China's first self-developed mobile offshore self-installing wellhead oil platform, the Haiyangshiyou 163, developed by CNOOC, is put into operation on April 8, 2022 in Beibu Gulf in South China. Compared with the traditional fixed jacket wellheads, the new design has made the oil rig portable and reusable. Photo: Courtesy of CNOOC

China’s domestically built offshore oil production platform Enping 15-1 in South China’s Guangdong Province has been fully operational, with peak daily output expected to reach 5,000 tons, its operator China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) announced on Wednesday night.

At 160-meter tall and weighing 30,000-tons, the platform is by far Asia's heaviest and best-equipped platform. It is independently designed, and constructed facility by CNOOC. The coverage of single deck is equivalent to 10 basketball courts, with nearly 600 specific units of equipment and systems installed, offering a variety of functions including oil well drilling, maintenance and unmanned remote control, the company said.

As a symbol project that marks the digital transformation of CNOOC, the Enping 15-1 oil field is the first in the country’s that adopts intelligent solutions in the design stage, according to the company.

It’s worth noting that more than 95 percent of the equipment on the platform is domestically developed, expanding the scope for the use of China made equipment in offshore platform and providing technological support for the improvement of the exploration and storage of ocean oil and natural gas in China, it said.

The platform adopts the country’s first self-developed 7,600-kilowatt oil electricity generator, greatly lowering required investment and will save maintenance costs by around 30 percent, the company said.

The project marks that Chinese design, construction and installation capabilities for super large offshore oil and gas production facilities has reached advanced international standards, it added.

Situated about 200 kilometers southwestern of China’s tech base Shenzhen, the platform is also expected to inject further momentum to the economic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area while further ensuring the country’s energy security, according to CNOOC.