China discovered a new gas field in the South China Sea
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered a natural gas field with reserves of more than 100 billion cubic meters in the South China Sea. This was reported by the South China Morning Post newspaper, TASS reports.
According to the report, the discovery was made in June 2024, and the local authorities completed the review of the company's application and registered the field this week. It was named Lingshui 36-1 and is located southeast of Hainan Island. The average sea depth in the area reaches 1,500 meters, with the gas-bearing basin 210 meters below the seabed.
The Company has been searching for oil and gas resources in the South China Sea for decades. Several large gas fields have been discovered, and today the total proven gas reserves in the region exceed one trillion cubic meters.
China is the largest importer of natural gas in the world. In 2023, it imported 120 million tonnes of the fuel in gaseous and LNG form, worth a total of $64.3 milliard. Turkmenistan, Russia and Myanmar were the largest suppliers of pipeline gas to the PRC. At the same time, China imported the largest amount of LNG from Australia, Qatar and Russia.
