CNOOC Ltd said Monday production had begun at the Xijiang Oilfields 24 Block Development Project, the state-backed company’s ninth South China Sea startup announcement this year.
Located in the shallow waters of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, the project is expected to reach its capacity of about 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed) next year, CNOOC Ltd, a publicly listed arm of China National Offshore Oil Corp, said in a press release. The oil is light crude, the company said.
“The development of the project mainly leverages the adjacent existing facilities of the Huixi Oilfields, with addition of a new unmanned wellhead platform”, it said.
“The new Xijiang 24-7 platform is China’s first unmanned offshore platform for high-temperature fluid cooling and export”, it noted. “The temperature control system reduces the impact of high temperatures on subsea pipelines, thereby ensuring stable and continuous production”.
CNOOC Ltd, the sole owner, plans to develop 10 wells for the project.
Just days ago it announced the start of production at the Weizhou 11-4 Oilfield Adjustment and Satellite Fields Development Project in the South China Sea’s Beibu Gulf Basin. It expects the project to reach a peak production of around 16,900 boed in 2026. The oil is light crude, according to the company.
Seven other CNOOC Ltd projects in the South China Sea began flows in 2025: the Dongfang 1-1 Gas Field 13-3 Block Development Project, the Dongfang 29-1 field, the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Development Project, the Weizhou 5-3 field, the Wenchang 9-7 field, the Wenchang 16-2 field and phase II of the Wenchang 19-1 field.
The South China Sea accounted for nearly 600,000 boed of CNNOC Ltd’s net output of 1.93 million boed last year, according to its annual report.
In the Bohai Sea, CNOOC Ltd announced four startups in 2025: phase I of the Bozhong 26-6 field, the Caofeidian 6-4 field adjustment, phase I of the Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project and phase II of the Luda 5-2 North field.
Overseas in 2025, CNOOC Ltd and its partners brought onstream the Yellowtail project in Guyana’s Stabroek block, where it owns a 25 percent stake. Offshore Brazil, CNOOC Ltd and its partners fired up Buzios7 in the Buzios field and Mero4 in the Mero field, where it owns 7.34 percent and 9.65 percent respectively.
In the first nine months of 2025 CNOOC Ltd produced 578.3 million boe net, up 6.7 percent from the same period in 2025 with natural gas production growing by 11.6 percent, according to its third quarter report. Its Chinese and overseas net production increased 8.6 percent and 2.6 percent year-on-year respectively.
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