OREANDA-NEWS. September 21, 2011. CNOOC Limited (the “Company”, NYSE: CEO, SEHK:0883) announced that State Oceanic Administration of People’s Republic of China("SOA"), according to its decision, required ConocoPhillips China Inc ("COPC"), the Operator of Penglai 19-3 oil field to, on the condition of imposing no further environmental damage, develop an effective plan for fluid discharge and depressurization (“Depressurization Plan”) in order to ensure safety of the field, protect the reservoir as well as reduce reservoir pressure, reported the press-centre of CNOOC.  

In addition, the Operator is required to develop a drilling plan for sealing seep sources (“Sealing Plan”). Those Plans should receive approval from China National Offshore Oil Corporation (“CNOOC”).

Today, CNOOC announced that it has approved such Depressurization Plan and Sealing Plan.

According to the Depressurization Plan, a number of wells in the field will be restarted to discharge the fluid from the reservoir and to reduce the pressure. The Plan will be implemented step by step. The general principle for depressurization established in the Plan is to discharge fluid and reduce pressure from the wells located at the high pressure zones or near the natural fault.

According to the Sealing Plan, the Operator will carry out the drilling activities and other related operations on six wells in the area of Platform B and C, as additional measures for sealing seep sources.

CNOOC requires the Operator to strengthen its monitoring of the dynamic reservoir condition, in particular the reservoir pressure during the process of fluid discharge and depressurization. Such monitoring results need to be reported to CNOOC in a timely manner. For the Sealing Plan, CNOOC also requires the Operator to ensure the safety of relevant operations.

As the non-operator, the Company will continue to assist COPC to ensure the implementation of those Plans.