China has successfully completed the construction of a massive offshore oil and gas platform, according to state media reports on Monday. The platform, which represents a significant technological achievement, was built over a period of three years.
Standing 24 stories tall and weighing more than 17,000 tonnes, the platform features a deck equivalent in size to 15 basketball courts, as detailed by state broadcaster CCTV. It boasts one of the world’s largest transmission capacities, with the capability to deliver 24 million tonnes of crude oil and 7.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually once fully operational.
Constructed by China Offshore Oil Engineering Company in the eastern port city of Qingdao, the platform is scheduled to be transported to the Marjan oil field in the Persian Gulf by the end of the month.
CCTV highlighted that the completion of the Marjan platform represents a significant advancement in China’s capabilities in large-scale offshore oil and gas equipment construction. This milestone is part of China’s broader strategy to enhance its position in advanced manufacturing and climb higher up the industrial value chain.
The Marjan oil field, located off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, is operated by Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant. The platform is a key component of the US$12 billion Marjan crude increment program, which aims to increase the field’s production capacity by an additional 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Additionally, the platform will process an extra 2.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, producing 360,000 barrels of ethane and natural gas liquids, according to industry sources in London.
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