The Chunxiao gas field () is a

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

below the East China Sea within the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Exclusive Economic Zone, about 4 km to the west of the EEZ border claimed by Japan which is disputed by China. The Chunxiao gas field is the first of a group of four natural gas fields in the

Xihu Trough The Xihu Trough () is a region in the East China Sea, located approximately 400 kilometres east of the cities of Shanghai and Ningbo, Zhejiang. The region is a repository for natural gas, and consists of the Chunxiao, Tianwaitian, Canxue, Duanqia ...

being developed by China: the other ones are Tianwaitian, Duanqiao, and Canxue. Production from the field started on January 28, 2006.

CNOOC China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC Group ( Chinese: 中国海洋石油总公司 Pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Háiyáng Shíyóu Zǒnggōngsī''), is one of the largest national oil companies in China, and the third-largest national oil ...

and

Sinopec China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (中国石油化工股份有限公司) or Sinopec (), is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Beijing. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai. Sinopec Limited's parent, Sinopec ...

operate the site.

Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

and

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

withdrew from the project in late 2004 for reasons of high costs, unclear reserves, and the

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...

. CNOOC estimates net oil reserves of the field at 3.8 million Barrels of oil, and 168.6 BCF of

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. In 1995, the People's Republic of China discovered the undersea

field in the East China Sea. The field lies within the Chinese EEZ, although Japan believes it is possibly connected to reserves beyond its claimed median line of the East China Sea. Japan maintains that, although the Chunxiao gas field rigs are on the PRC side of a median line that it regards as the two sides' sea boundary, China may tap into a field that stretches underground into disputed areas. In June 2008, both sides agreed to jointly develop the Chunxiao gas fields.

References

External links

Major properties under production and development
''CNOOC Limited''. Retrieved Nov. 1, 2005.

''People's Daily Online''. April 21, 2005.

''Foreign Press Center Japan''. June 6, 2005.
Geological structure of Chunxiao gas field (in Russian)
{{coord missing, China Natural gas fields in China East China Sea

See also

References

External links