Offshore oil storage gets boost

Asia's first cylindrical floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, designed and built by China, marks a breakthrough in the development of deepwater, ultra-large offshore oil and gas equipment, and will be significant in ensuring domestic energy security, said industry experts.

The comments came after the main construction of an offshore oil and gas processing plant — Haiyang Shiyou 122 — was completed in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Wednesday.

With a maximum oil storage capacity of 60,000 metric tons and a designed life of 30 years, it is capable of processing 5,600 tons of crude per day, its operator China National Offshore Oil Corp said.

The project is currently at the integrated commissioning stage.

After project completion next year, it will be settled in China's first deepwater oilfield, Liuhua 11-1, another significant oilfield asset in the development of China's deepsea oil and gas resources, it said.

FPSO, an offshore oil and gas processing project capable of crude oil production, storage and export, has become the mainstream production facility for global offshore oil and gas development.

As China looks to expand its offshore oil and gas development, the project represents a key step forward in the development of deepwater exploration equipment in the country, said Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF.

China is on a fast track to further exploit deepsea gas resources, which will in turn further strengthen the country's energy security in the offshore sector, Li said.

Deepsea oil and gas exploration and development are more crucial than ever in ensuring domestic energy security, as most of the discoveries found in oil and gas exploration in the global marine sector are currently found in deepsea regions, Li added.

Ma Lin, construction engineer of the Haiyang Shiyou 122 project, said most of the core technologies were domestically developed, including a large-capacity hydraulic submersible pump.

CNOOC has also resolved several technical challenges that are faced globally in the construction of an FPSO facility, from equipment system design to high-precision construction, thereby achieving several technological breakthroughs.

China has been stepping up offshore oil and gas development in recent years and investments in offshore oil and gas exploration are expected to continue rising this year, with more than half of this year's domestic oil increment likely to come from offshore resources, according to a report released by CNOOC.