News Release

10
06Month
2020

CIMC "Blue Whale 1" Assists China's First Deepwater Self-operated Large Gas Field to Complete First Development Well Operation

Publisher:CIMC   

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Recently, the "Blue Whale 1" drilling platform designed and built by CIMC Raffles helped CNOOC to complete the first development well operation - Lingshui 17-2 Gas Field, China's first deepwater self-operated large gas field. The completion of this well marks an important step in the development and construction of the gas field.

Lingshui 17-2 Gas Field, 150 kilometers offshore from Hainan Island, is located in the waters where the three major plates of Eurasia, Pacific Ocean and India and Australia meet. Drilling operations face many challenges such as complex geological structure, high temperature and high pressure, ultra-deep water, typhoon, etc. A total of 11 development wells have been deployed in Lingshui 17-2 gas field, which are distributed in 7 deep water well areas. The geological and hydrological conditions of each well area vary. The operating water depth of the first development well completed this time is over 1200 meters, and the completed drilling depth is close to 4200 meters.

The "Blue Whale 1" ultra-deep water semi-submersible drilling platform, which undertook the drilling and completion operation, was designed and built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of CIMC Group. It is 117 meters long, 92.7 meters wide, 118 meters high, weighs 43,725 tons, has a maximum operating water depth of 3,658 meters and a maximum drilling depth of 15,250 meters, and is suitable for global deep sea operations. Equipped with the world's leading DP3 closed-loop power management system, it can ensure that the platform stands firm in hurricanes and currents.

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CIMC "Blue Whale 1" is currently the world's largest and deepest ultra-deep water semi-submersible drilling platform, representing the highest level of design and construction of offshore drilling platforms in the world. CIMC "Blue Whale 1" set sail for Lingshui 17-2 Gas Field in the South China Sea in April 2019. After the important project of national combustible ice test production, CIMC once again undertook another important task to help ensure the safety of China's energy supply.