China’s first 100-billion-cubic-meter Bohai gas field begins full production

China's inaugural 100-billion-cubic-meter Bohai gas field commenced full production on Sunday, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The hydrocarbon reserve, the world's largest offshore gas field in the eastern province of East China, is now generating over 5,200 tonnes of oil and gas per day. This milestone is crucial for optimizing the regional energy mix and fueling high-quality economic and social advancement.

Situated in the central Bohai Sea, the Bozhong 19-6 gas field holds more than 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas and over 200 million cubic meters of oil liquids. The field is buried more than 5,000 meters beneath the seabed and consists of widely dispersed yet intricate oil and gas reservoirs, along with densely fractured buried-hill formations, rendering its exploitation significantly more complex than traditional offshore oil and gas fields.

China's natural gas reserves are unevenly distributed, with ample reserves in the west and sparser supplies in the east. As the largest offshore gas field in the eastern Chinese coast, Bozhong 19-6 has thus far extracted over 2.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, playing a pivotal role in maintaining a steady gas supply for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Bohai rim area.

With China currently facing a critical summer energy demand surge, the completion of the project's first phase will further bolster the provision of energy resources to local residents and industries. Drilling activities for the second phase of the gas field have now begun and are anticipated to further emphasize the significance of offshore oil and gas resources in bolstering China's domestic energy supply.