China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC), China's largest offshore energy producer, has shut down its operation in the South China Sea after gas leak being detected from one of its sub-sea pipelines.
A long-range view of the Oriental 1-1 natural gas field owned by CNOOC Ltd in the South China Sea. The field has a daily output of 187 million cubic feet. [Xinhua] |
The pipeline leak is about 12 kilometers from the company's Zhuhai Hengqin gas processing terminal in Guangdong province. Most of the gas from there is distributed to local power stations, while a small portion goes for residential use, CNOOC said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company said that it has shut down the production of relevant platforms of Panyu 30-1 and Huizhou 21-1 fields supplying gas to the pipe.
It is rushing to release the pressure in the leaking pipeline, which it expects to be done by Wednesday, and then it will start the repair work.
"While it's still unclear how long it will take CNOOC to fix the problem, we expect it to take normally around 3-4 months to fix a subsea pipeline problem," analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein wrote in a note yesterday.
The brokerage and investment group CLSA said in a report that the suspended gas fields may remain shut for as long as two months. That, in turn, may lead to gas shortages in Guangdong province, the country's industrial powerhouse.
The Beijing-based CNOOC will lose the equivalent of around 26,700 barrels of oil daily, said Lin Zhongming, director of the Shenzhen branch's Party committee office.
The Zhuhai Maritime Safety Administration has issued notices to evacuate nearby boats and to inform local residents about the leak.
No injury or environmental pollution has been reported and the situation is under control, CNOOC said. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
CNOOC was ordered all production to be suspended at its 51-percent owned Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the Bohai Bay following two oil leaks that began in June.
The Penglai 19-3 oilfield in Bohai Bay, in which CNOOC holds a 51 percent stake, was forced to shut down in September after about 700 barrels of crude oil leaked from the field in June.
The company also reported detecting a small oil spill in Bohai Bay's Jinzhou 9-3 West oilfield in October.
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