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Holly Chik

A Chinese marine explorer is scouring new ocean depths to detect offshore oil reserves and earthquakes, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The geophysical exploration ship Haiyang Shiyou 720, or Offshore Oil 720, deployed the home-grown Haijing system to 3,000 metres (8,850 feet) below the surface in the South China Sea, CCTV reported on Sunday.
The system is towed by the ship and gathers data using 10 detection cables – each more than 8km (5 miles) long.
The data will be used to create a geological map of the seabed in the area.


The Haijing system is run by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country’s largest offshore oil and gas producer.
“The equipment performance supports offshore oil exploration,” chief engineer of system development Ruan Fuming told CCTV.
“Compared to imported equipment, the seismic data collected by Haijing has higher resolution. It enables the precise characterisation of complex geological structures tens of thousands of metres deep when it operates at the depth of 3,000 metres,” he said.
South China Sea: risk of flashpoints ‘high’ as energy projects expand
The equipment is also capable of acquiring ultra-low-frequency signals at 2 hertz, significantly improving the precision and data quality of marine seismic exploration.
The Chinese system has been working in deep water about 500km (310 miles) south of Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong for more than a month.
In this mission, the underwater equipment operated over an area of 2,500 sq km to collect real-time seismic data.
This is the first time China has conducted seismic exploration operations in ultra-deep water areas using equipment developed in China.
The data it gathers will show detailed geological characteristics of sea floor strata, providing key clues to oil and gas resource-rich areas, according to CCTV.
China has been increasing its ability to explore and extract deep-sea resources, including oil and gas. For example, in the east of the South China Sea, CNOOC operates the Liwan 3-1 gas field up to 1,480 metres deep.


The home-grown Deep Sea No 1 gas field – 150km from Sanya on the southern island of Hainan and also run by CNOOC – has a maximum operational water depth of 1,500 metres and had produced more than 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas by April this year after it was inaugurated in June 2021.
“We will apply domestic equipment to search for large and medium-sized oil and gas fields at depth and distance to ensure that China’s energy supply remains under our own control,” CNOOC deputy chief exploration engineer Xu Changgui told CCTV on Saturday.


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China’s geophysical exploration ship Haiyang Shiyou 720, or Offshore Oil 720, towed long cables to collect undersea data. Photo: Handout

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China

Home-grown Haijing system seeks out offshore oil reserves and can detect ocean earthquakes, state broadcaster says
System uses 10 detection cables attached to ship to collect real-time seismic data


Home-grown Haijing system seeks out offshore oil reserves and can detect ocean earthquakes, state broadcaster says.


China energy security

South China Sea

Energy

China National Offshore Oil Corporation

Chinese underwater explorer dives deep in hunt for oil and gas

Home-grown Haijing system seeks out offshore oil reserves and can detect ocean earthquakes, state broadcaster says System uses 10 detection cables attached to ship to collect real-time seismic data

Home-grown Haijing system seeks out offshore oil reserves and can detect ocean earthquakes, state broadcaster says

System uses 10 detection cables attached to ship to collect real-time seismic data