China discovers first large deep-water deep-stratum gas field

(ECNS) --A large deep-water deep-stratum gas field with proven reserves exceeding 50 billion cubic meters, the first of its kind in China, was discovered in the water southeast of Hainan Island, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) on Thursday.

The gas field was named "Baodao 21-1". With a maximum operating depth of more than 1,500 meters and a completed well depth of more than 5,000 meters, it is subject to extremely complex marine geological conditions.

In the fields of offshore oil and gas exploration, waters with a depth of more than 300 meters are regarded as deep-water, and wells with a depth of more than 3,000 meters are defined as deep wells.

The discovery of "Baodao 21-1" confirmed the exploration potential of the Baodao Sag, and marks important progress for CNOOC's technology in deep-sea deep-stratum exploration, said Wu Keqiang, chief geologist of the Hainan branch of CNOOC.