MASSIVE 100-MILLION-TON CRUDE RESERVE FOUND BY CHINA IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

Tue 01 April 2025:

China announced Monday the discovery of a crude oil reserve estimated at 100 million tons in the northeastern part of the South China Sea, according to a statement from the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The reserve was located at the “Huicou 19-6” oil field, situated approximately 170 kilometers off the coast of Guangdong province in southern China. The field lies in waters averaging 100 meters in depth.

CNOOC said test drilling at the site yielded 413 barrels of oil and 68,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day.

The state-owned company emphasized that the newly discovered oil field is not located in a contested area of the South China Sea, noting that it falls entirely within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its shoreline.

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China’s pursuit of oil in the South China Sea began in earnest in the late 20th century as its economy boomed and energy demands soared. The region, estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration to hold 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of gas, became a focal point.

Early exploration was limited by technology and territorial disputes with neighbors like Vietnam and the Philippines. In 1987, Amoco (now BP) discovered the Liuhua 11-1 field, one of the first major finds, southeast of Hong Kong. China’s state-owned CNOOC took over offshore efforts, ramping up in the 2000s to offset declining onshore fields.

A breakthrough came in 2014 with the Lingshui 17-2 gas field, followed by intensified drilling. In 2024, CNOOC announced the Kaiping South oilfield, with over 100 million tons of light crude, China’s first deepwater find of that scale. Then, in March 2025, the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield added another 100 million tons, located within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

These discoveries, driven by advanced deepwater tech, aim to bolster energy security for the world’s top oil importer, though they fuel tensions in the contested region.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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