The new 2.8-billion yuan-vessel, which can lay pipes at depths of 3000 meters and lift 4,000 metric tons, will officially operate at the South China Sea's Liwan 3-1 gas field, which has water depths of 1,500 meters.
First, however, it will undergo a one-month trial in shallower waters, where it will lay about 1.5 kilometers of pipe for testing. Liwan 3-1 is the country's first deepwater natural gas field, and was discovered by Husky Energy Inc in 2006. It is set to start commercial production next year to supply gas to Zhuhai in Guangdong province.
The pipe-laying crane ship, together with the deepwater drilling platform, will help the company go from shallow waters to the more challenging deepwater, and protect China's energy security and national interests in the territorial waters. The vessel, known as Hai Yang Shi You 201, which started undergoing construction in September 2009, is part of CNOOC's deepwater fleet, which cost the company a total of 11.5 billion yuan ($1.8 billion).
The fleet, which has six vessels, is designed to meet the country's requirements to explore deepwater areas for sustainable energy supplies, said Jin Xiaojian, general manager of CNOOC's engineering department.
The construction pace accelerated in 2006 when the Liwan 3-1 field was discovered, boosting the company's confidence in the existence of oil and gas in the South China Sea, Jin said.
The drilling rig, the outfit's "flagship", officially started operating at the Liwan 6-1-1 field located 320 kilometers to the southeast of Hong Kong, marking the country's new era of deepwater exploration in the South China Sea.
The area is estimated to have about 16 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and about 30 billion tons of oil, which would account for one-third of China's total oil and gas resources, CNOOC has said.
9555371 HAI YANG SHI YOU 201 Offshore Construction 25448 2010
Ship Type: Crane ship
Year Built: 2012
Length x Breadth: 204 m X 39 m
Gross Tonnage: 53350, DeadWeight: 25448 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 5.8 / 5.8 knots
Flag: China [CN]
Call Sign: BFAG3
IMO: 9555371, MMSI: 413302380
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