AMOCO TEAM PLANS SOUTH CHINA SEA OIL DEVELOPMENT

Amoco Orient Petroleum Co. and China Offshore Oil Nanhai East (Conhe) plan a $650 million development program for Liuhua 11-1 deepwater oil field in the South China Sea. The program is based on a floating production system (FPS) and seabed completions of horizontal wells. China's energy ministry last week approved the development plan for the field in 1,000 ft of water, about 120 miles south-southwest of Hong Kong. It is billed as the largest oil field in the South China Sea.

April 26, 1993

2 min read

Amoco Orient Petroleum Co. and China Offshore Oil Nanhai East (Conhe) plan a $650 million development program for Liuhua 11-1 deepwater oil field in the South China Sea.

The program is based on a floating production system (FPS) and seabed completions of horizontal wells.

China's energy ministry last week approved the development plan for the field in 1,000 ft of water, about 120 miles south-southwest of Hong Kong. It is billed as the largest oil field in the South China Sea.

The plan calls for an FPS to drill and maintain about 20 horizontal subsea wells by yearend 1997. Liuhua 11-1 wells are to produce with the aid of electric submersible pumps (ESPs), said to be the first use of ESPs with subsea wells. The companies expect an $850 million; 15 year production phase starting early in 1996.

FACILITIES DESCRIPTION

The FPS is to be a modified semisubmersible rig equipped for drilling, completions, and workovers. It is to install and operate subsea manifold systems, as well as house electrical generation and distribution equipment to power Liuhua 11-1 ESPs.

Liuhua 11-1 production facilities are to be located on a separate floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, It will be an oil tanker modified to process produced oil and water, store processed oil, and flare associated gas.

FPSO processing and well test equipment will be designed to handle as much as 300,000 b/d of fluids, including 65,000 b/d of oil. The unit, with about 720,000 bbl of storage capacity, will offload processed oil to tandem moored shuttle tankers.

The FPS and FPSO are to be moored with catenary lines designed to keep the vessels on station through 100 year typhoons.

Selection of general contractors to help with engineering, construction, and conversion of the FPS and FPSO is under way, with acquisition of the vessels due later this year.

Amoco and Conhe disclosed discovery of Liuhua 11-1 field in first quarter 1987. The field is on the 791,214 acre Contract Area 29/04, one of three tracts Amoco acquired in 1985-86 under agreements with China National Offshore Oil Co.