China’s CNOOC Ltd has begun production at the Buzios5 well in Brazil, the fifth phase of the Buzios oilfield off the South American country´s southeast coast, the company said in a statement.
At an average water depth of 1,900 metres to 2,200 meters, the field is the world’s largest deepwater pre-salt oil field in the world, with daily production of 600,000 barrels, the company said.
CNOOC’s Brazilian subsidiary owns 7.34% of the Buzios shared reservoir, which is 88.99% owned by Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras.
CNOOC buys additional 5% stake in Buzios oilfield for USD 1.9bn
CNOOC paid USD 1.9 billion to Petrobras last year to secure a 5% stake in a production sharing agreement at the field.
State-owned CNOOC is China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, and has invested in a number of more technically challenging fields overseas as it seeks to ramp up production.
The company previously reported that output from its international operations in the first quarter increased 16.6% versus last year.
CNOOC’s expanding presence in Brazil to ensure sufficient energy supply for China
CNOOC has targeted a record 650 million to 660 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) for this year. It is aiming for 6% average annual production growth by 2025 when output is forecast to hit 2 million boe a day.
