China has officially launched its first offshore carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project, a major step toward low-carbon energy development at sea.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
China has officially launched its first offshore carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project, a major step toward low-carbon energy development at sea. Operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the project is located at the Enping 15-1 platform in the Pearl River Mouth Basin.
The facility captures CO₂ produced during oil extraction, purifies and compresses it into a supercritical state, and injects it back into an undersea reservoir through a dedicated well. The process starts at an injection rate of 8 tonnes per hour and is designed to both enhance oil recovery and permanently store carbon—pioneering a closed-loop approach to offshore energy: using carbon to extract oil, and oil to lock away carbon.
Located about 200 kilometers southwest of Shenzhen in waters roughly 90 meters deep, Enping 15-1 is Asia’s largest offshore crude production platform. The surrounding cluster of oilfields can produce over 7,500 tonnes of oil per day at peak capacity. The oilfield has a high CO₂ content, which, if developed through conventional means, would bring carbon dioxide to the surface alongside crude oil—risking corrosion of offshore infrastructure and increasing emissions.
While there are 65 commercial-scale CCUS projects operating worldwide, the vast majority are land-based. Offshore carbon storage remains rare and technically challenging. CNOOC spent four years developing integrated solutions across geology, reservoir modeling, drilling, and platform engineering, resulting in more than a dozen industry-first technologies. A pilot CO₂ injection program launched in June 2023 at the same site has already stored nearly 200,000 tonnes of CO₂, offering a viable decarbonization pathway for the Greater Bay Area and beyond.
“We plan to inject over 1 million tonnes of CO₂ and increase oil output by 200,000 tonnes over the next decade,” said Wan Nianhui, General Manager of the Enping operations zone. “This will play an important role in securing national energy supply while advancing China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals.”
With ongoing equipment upgrades, CNOOC aims to raise the CO₂ injection rate to 17 tonnes per hour. At full capacity, a single well could contribute up to 15,000 tonnes of additional crude annually—reinforcing the platform’s dual role in boosting output and cutting emissions.
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