China has struck black-gold after discovering 100 million tons of oil beneath the seabed. A major oilfield, called Huizhou 19-6, was recently found in the deep and ultra-deep layers under the South China Sea, according to an announcement on Monday by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Test wells have already sucked up hundreds of barrels of crude oil and the company claims there’s proven reserves of much, much more.
“The discovery well HZ19-6-3 was drilled and completed at a depth of 5,415 meters, which encountered a total of 127 meters oil and gas pay zones. The well was tested to produce 413 barrels of crude oil and 2.41 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Through continued exploration, the proved in-place volume of Huizhou 19-6 oilfield has exceeded a hundred million tons of oil equivalent,” CNOOC said in a statement.
The new-found Huizhou 19-6 site is reportedly around 170 kilometers (105 miles) off the coast of Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong Province. It’s well within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the sea zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from a country’s coast where it has special rights to fish, drill, and explore.
Further afield, the South China Sea is one of the most hotly contested regions on Earth, valued for its strategic position and abundant resources, including vast oil reserves. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other nations all stake claims, driven by concerns over energy security and territorial sovereignty.
As the world relentlessly hunts for new oil, more reserves are being tapped from ultra-deep seabed layers once thought unreachable. In recent years, China has pushed the limits of ultra-deep exploration with new technology uncovering massive oil and gas fields – fueling their increasing energy demands while raising environmental concerns.
Environmental groups have long warned about the risks of drilling in ultra-deep waters, highlighting the increased threat of oil spills that could have devastating consequences for marine ecosystems.
Unearthing more oil also raises questions about long-term sustainability and global climate commitments. China has said it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and reach “peak carbon” emissions by 2030. Possessing 100 million tons of oil certainly isn’t going to help those targets.
Regardless, China is steadily cementing its status as a global leader in deep-sea exploration. Whether this latest oil discovery in the South China Sea will heighten regional tensions or enhance energy stability remains uncertain. However, one thing is clear: the race for deep-sea resources is far from over.
