China discovers HUGE offshore oil deposit in Bohai Bay

China's state-owned oil and gas corporation China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered a major oil field in Bohai Bay, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Kenli 6-1 structure is located in the lower Laibei uplift in the southern Bohai Basin at an average depth of about 19.2 meters. Exploration well KL6-1-3 was drilled at a depth of 1,596 meters and penetrated oil and gas zones about 20 meters thick. During the test, the well received an inflow of oil amounting to 1,178 thousand barrels per day,” the statement read.

The company noted that the field is expected to be the first major source of oil in the area.

CNOOC is China's third-largest national oil company after CNPC and Sinopec. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Beijing, CNOOC deals in the production, refining and marketing of oil and natural gas from offshore China.

The company recently announced plans to raise up to 35 billion yuan ($5.41 billion) in a new share issue on the Shanghai stock exchange to fund its key oil and gas projects. CNOOC plans to issue about 5.82% of the company's share capital, the firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Sunday. The plan to raise funds domestically came after US sanctions on CNOOC forced global investors to lower investments in the company. 

CNOOC's Hong Kong-listed shares stood at $8.70 per share on Thursday, having gained 17.5% since last year.

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