China has discovered gas in the exceptionally deep reservoirs of Bohai Bay.
CNOOC discovered gas-bearing formations in volcanic rocks at a depth of 5.77 km in Bohai Gulf.
The flow rate of the well during the test was about 800 thousand cubic meters of gas per day. The potential of the resource base of the area is estimated at about 1 trillion square meters, but the reserves of the new discovery have not yet been detailed.
Development costs and production costs were not disclosed. By comparison, the first phase of China's Bozhong 19-6 gas project required investments of about 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion). This estimate cannot be transferred directly to a new discovery: the economics will depend on reserves, the number of wells and infrastructure costs.
The success expands China's ability to increase its gas production and reduce dependence on imports, but the timing of industrial development has not yet been announced.