China combines offshore oil exploration with onshore treatment

July 11, 1997 The Suizhong 36-1 oilfield in China's Bohai Sea has prepared an unprecedented move to combine onshore with offshore oil exploration. According to a Bohai Oilfield official, the purpose of the move is to decrease production costs and shorten the time of development. Six offshore oil platforms and an oil and gas treatment plant with an annual handling capacity of 5.5 million tons will be built. Crude oil extracted from offshore oil wells will be transported onshore for initial treatment and processing through a 70-km pipeline.
The Suizhong field is the country's largest offshore oilfield. It is located at Liaodong Bay and covers a 48-sq km area with more than 300 million tons of proven oil reserves. To ensure the success of the program, the Bohai Oil Company began a trial exploration project in 1988 at a cost of 1.8 billion yuan, on a 6.55 sq km area. So far, more than 50 million tons of proven reserves have been discovered in the trial area, with an annual crude production capacity of 1.5 million tons.