Drilled to a depth of 1,596m, the KL6-1-3 well encountered oil pay zones with a total thickness of approximately 20m

oil-platform-484859_640

The KL6-1-3 well was drilled to a depth of 1,596m. (Credit: Pixabay/D Thory)

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has announced what it claims to be a large-sized oil discovery at the Kenli 6-1 well located in the Bohai Bay, China.

Located in Laibei lower uplift in southern Bohai basin with an average water depth of about 19.2m, the discovery well KL6-1-3 was drilled to a depth of 1,596m.

KL6-1-3 well encounters oil pay zones

Following drilling, the well had encountered oil pay zones with a total thickness of approximately 20m.

Following testing, the well had produced around 1,178 barrels of oil per day.

The Chinese national oil company said in a statement: “The successful exploration of Kenli 6-1 demonstrated the Company’s remarkable breakthrough in the exploration area of Laibei lower uplift, and further proved the huge exploration potential of the Neogene lithologic reservoir in the Laizhou Bay.”

Recently, the company commenced production from the Bozhong 34-9 oilfield located in the south of Bohai Sea, China.

According to the company, the oilfield is contained in an average water depth of 18.1m. CNOOC is the sole stakeholder in the Bozhong 34-9 oilfield.

CNOOC is planning to drill a total of 57 wells at the Bozhong 34-9 Oilfield, out of which 38 will be production wells, while the remaining will be water injection wells.

The Bozhong 34-9 project is anticipated to realise its peak production of nearly 22,500 barrels of crude oil per day in 2022.

Earlier this year, CNOOC said it plans to investment CNY85bn ($12.2bn) to CNY95bn ($13.7bn), targeting a net production capacity of 520-530 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe) in 2020.

CNOOC’s net production for 2021 and 2022 are estimated to be around 555 million boe and 590 million boe, respectively.