china natural gas
China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) has made a large offshore natural gas discovery in the South China Sea as it continues to work toward adding oil and gas reserves.

Proven gas in-place of the Baodao 21-1 field has "successfully passed the Chinese governmental review and filing," the firm said. CNOOC says the field holds 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The find is considered the biggest discovery in more than half a century in the Songnan-Baodao Sag area of the Qiongdongnan basin, in the western South China Sea. The discovery well Baodao 21-1-1 was completed at a depth of 5,188 meters, encountering 113 meters of pay zone. The well is set to produce 587,000 cubic meters/day.

Zhou Xinhuai, CEO, said, "We have accelerated the pace to explore in deep waters, targeting the discovery of large and medium-sized oil and gas fields."

CNOOC is also China's largest importer of LNG. At one stage last year, China became the biggest liquefied natural gas importer in the world.

Some LNG cargoes have been rerouted to Europe this year as demand has dropped due to stronger coal power output, higher domestic natural gas production, and weaker industrial activity. The country also maintains a Zero Covid policy, hampering economic recovery.

Natural gas demand growth this year in China is expected to slow to 2%, its lowest growth rate since the early 1990s, according to the International Energy Agency.

Meanwhile, China's leader Xi Jinping begins an unprecedented third term this week. Analysts have suggested his focus would be around security and a more state centered approach to managing the economy.