China's Smallest Offshore Oilfield Starts Operation

China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, has begun producing oil at the smallest offshore oilfield China has discovered, according to reports. It is widely considered that the smaller an oilfield is, the more difficult it is to explore it. Industry experts believe that if an offshore oilfield has a workable reserve of less than 3 million cubic meters, it is too costly to be explored. Dubbed Bozhong 34-5, the small oilfield has a workable reserve of only 1.8 million cubic meters, according to Zhou. Founded in 1982, the CNOOC has built 51 oilfields and gas fields. Source: Xinhua