'CNOOC Limited made major technological breakthroughs in this project and significantly enhanced the development efficiency of offshore super heavy oil'.
CNOOC Ltd. has commenced oil production in the second phase of the Luda 5-2 North field, located in the Bohai Sea. This marks the fourth project launched by the company in China in 2025. The field, situated in the central Bohai Sea off northeastern mainland China, operates in waters averaging 30 meters deep. Producing heavy crude, the phase is projected to achieve a peak output of approximately 6,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2026, according to a CNOOC Ltd. press release.
The initial phase of Luda 5-2 North began production on April 23, 2022, pioneering thermal recovery for super-heavy oil in China. That phase, managed by CNOOC Ltd.—majority-owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp.—reached a peak of 8,200 barrels per day. For phase two, the company constructed a new auxiliary production platform and a production wellhead platform, planning 29 wells, including 28 for production and one for water access. CNOOC Ltd. stated: “CNOOC Limited made major technological breakthroughs in this project and significantly enhanced the development efficiency of offshore super heavy oil.” The use of optimized Jet Pump Injection-Production Technology has enabled efficient and cost-effective heavy crude development, strengthening the company’s energy supply capabilities.
Elsewhere in the Bohai Sea, CNOOC Ltd. announced the start of production at Bozhong 26-6 in Bohai Bay on February 7, 2025. This field, with an average water depth of 20 meters, is expected to hit 22,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day at its peak this year. Holding over 200 million cubic meters of proven oil and gas reserves, it is described by the company as the world’s largest buried metamorphic hill oilfield. As a carbon capture, utilization, and storage demonstration project, Bozhong 26-6 employs technology to capture carbon dioxide from oil extraction, reinjecting it to boost output while cutting emissions. The company estimates this will store about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the field’s lifespan. President Yan Hongtao remarked: “It bolsters the Company’s energy supply capacity and low-carbon development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Bohai Rim regions.”
CNOOC Ltd. also initiated two other projects in China this year: the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Development Project and the Dongfang 29-1 gas field, both in the South China Sea. Internationally, the company, alongside Petróleo Brasileiro SA, began production at the Búzios7 project in Brazil on February 17, 2025, aiming to increase the Búzios oilfield’s output to one million barrels per day by mid-2025.
Looking ahead, CNOOC Ltd. plans to launch the Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project Phase I in China and the Yellowtail Project in Guyana in 2025. The company targets a net production exceeding 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day this year, following an estimated 720 million barrels in 2024—its sixth consecutive year of record output. For 2025, production goals range between 760 million and 780 million barrels, with 69 percent sourced from China.
