(Yicai) March 8 -- Shares of China National Offshore Oil hit record highs both in Shanghai and Hong Kong after the Chinese oil behemoth announced it has discovered China’s deepest offshore oil field. 

CNOOC’s stock price [SHA: 600938] closed 8.9 percent higher at CNY30.58 (USD4.30). Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 0883] gained 4.4 percent at HKD17.96 (USD2.30).

The Kaipingnan oil field in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea has a proven reserve of 102 million tons of oil and gas, with a recoverable reserve of 15 million to 30 million tons based on domestic average rates, CCTV News reported, citing Beijing-based oil and gas producer.

The oil field, located about 300 kilometers southwest of Shenzhen, lies in an area with a maximum water depth of 532 meters, and the maximum well depth exceeds 4,830 meters, and both numbers are deeper than ever for offshore oil fields in China.

This is also the largest oil field independently discovered by a Chinese oil and gas firm in deep waters. Many foreign companies have failed to find deposits here during the past four decades because the Kaipingnan oil field has complex geological conditions and great exploration difficulties, said Liu Jun, chief geologist of CNOOC’s Shenzhen branch.

Based on new seismic data and a better understanding of the mechanism of oil and gas reservoirs, CNOOC started exploring the area intensively last year and has drilled four highly productive oil wells so far, Liu added.

Editor: Emmi Laine