First ultra-deep-water platform gas reaches Zhuhai hub

The first delivery of natural gas produced at Deep Sea 1 was piped 691 km (429 miles) under the South China Sea to the Gaolan Port branch of the Baiyun Gas Field and then continuously sent to thousands of households in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Zhuhai pipelines[Photo by Zhang Zhou / Guanhai App]

Deep Sea 1 is 150 km (93 miles) off Hainan Province in China's first deep-water (1,500 m or 4,921 ft) self-operated Lingshui 17-2 gas field. The Deep Sea 1 semi-submersible oil production and storage facility came into operation June 25. As of Aug 24, 4.69 million cubic meters (165.6 million cu ft) of natural gas had been piped to Zhuhai from the production and storage platform. In perspective, the average US home uses 196 cu ft of natural gas each day.

The energy facility can produce more than 3 billion cu m of natural gas annually, which can satisfy one-fourth of the civic demands in the Greater Bay Area and support construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.

Zhuhai has been a significant transportation hub for deep-water natural gas from Liwan 3-1 gas field since April 2014 and Liuhua 29-2 since May. To date, it has piped more than 34 billion cu m of natural gas to the Greater Bay Area users to help peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.

The China National Offshore Oil Corp liquefied natural gas (LNG) station is in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone in Jinwan District. To ensure a smooth natural gas supply, Zhuhai CNOOC Pipeline Natural Gas monitors pipeline pressure, temperature, and flow in real time, and checks the quality of natural gas through a chromatographic analyzer, and has strengthened patrol of the facilities.