A trial program focused on domestically made Natural Gas Hydrate (NGH) exploration equipment has been completed in the South China Sea, Global Times learned from China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on Monday, marking a forward step in China’s NGH detection and exploration development.
CNOOC said the trial program had obtained valuable NGH drilling statistics with low cost and high efficiency. In addition, the trial also broke two records in China’s NGH exploration sector of maximum NGH drilling depth and maximum operation water depth.
NGH, also known as flammable ice, is mainly stored on the seabed of the South China Sea at a depth of 800 meters. China had been hiring oversea professional operators and equipment to complete sampling NHG due to the complex nature of the work.
The trial was started in June 2021, which helped CNOOC received various first-hand data including landform, temperature and size of the drilling well relying on domestically built investigation boat, deep water drilling system and measure equipment.
“The successes of the trial helped China become the third country that domestically seize the drilling and sampling techniques of NGH in deep water,” said Zhou Shouwei, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering.