Beijing explores sea beds, in search of oil

Increased costs and rising consumption added to dwindling reserves in the East China oil fields push big oil companies to step up offshore exploration, notably in Bohai Bay where rich reserves have been discovered. The South China Sea and African waters also ear marked for deep sea exploration.

Zhang Weiping, deputy chief economist of the China National Offshore Oil Corp CNOOC, said that 70 percent of oil reserves in the South China Sea are in deep water, which require deep-sea drilling capacity. Both Cnpc and Cnooc are developing deep-water drilling platforms with a 3,000-meter extraction capacity.
AsiaNews