CNOOC Increases Production at Bohai Bay

Chinese offshore oil producer Cnooc Ltd. aims to increase production at Bohai Bay to make it the country's second-largest oil field in terms of output within five years, company officials said.

The offshore hub in northern China produced 98.1 million barrels of oil equivalent last year, and must double output to edge out Shengli oil field in eastern China before it can claim second spot, said Chen Bi, vice-president of Cnooc Ltd. and general manager of the Tianjin unit that oversees the Bohai Bay operations.

The jump in output at Bohai would be achieved through a combination of new oil fields coming on stream, notably the Peng Lai field from 2008, and enhanced output techniques. The company expects production volume to rise to 99 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2007 before the pace of growth accelerates.

The number of producing oil fields in Bohai is likely to jump from its current 28 over the next few years, said Gao Dongsheng, general manager of the development department at Cnooc's Tianjin unit.