SK Earthon, a subsidiary of SK Innovation Co. Ltd., started production from Lufeng 12-3 oilfield in Block 17/03 in the northeastern region of the South China Sea, about 300 km from Shenzhen, China, marking the first successful crude oil production from an oil field in which the company holds block operatorship, the company said in a release Sept. 25.
SK Earthon entered the offshore block through a petroleum contract with CNOOC. Oil was discovered through an exploration well drilled in 2018 after geological and geophysical surveys were conducted, the company said.
Production infrastructure is sited in about 240 m of water and includes one wellhead platform and one newly built 100,000-ton intelligent FPSO, with 13 development wells planned to be put into production, partner CNOOC Ltd. said in a separate release Sept. 25.
The project is expected to achieve a peak production of about 29,500 bo/d in 2024.
Lufeng 12-3 is the largest jointly-developed oilfield in the South China Sea in the past decade, according to CNOOC.
SK Earthon is operator at Lufeng 12-3 (39.2%) with partner CNOOC Ltd. (60.8%).
