On March 6, construction officially began at the Qingdao International High-end Equipment Manufacturing Base on the cylindrical Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Kaiping South Oilfield Development Project, for which COOEC serves as the EPC contractor. Referred to hereafter as the “Kaiping Project,” the project involves the construction of Asia’s largest cylindrical offshore oil and gas factory of its kind, independently designed and built by China. Once successfully implemented, the project will significantly enhance China’s self-reliance in deepwater ultra-large-scale oil and gas equipment and provide critical equipment support for accelerating the economical and efficient development of offshore oil and gas resources in deep and remote waters.

The Kaiping South Oilfield is the largest deepwater oilfield by proven reserves independently discovered by China in the sector. The project plans to build a 100,000-metric-ton-class cylindrical FPSO vessel, together with supporting subsea pipelines and cables and more than 30 subsea Christmas trees. The complexity of the subsea production system for the Kaiping Project sets a new domestic record. The FPSO ranks first in the world in hull weight and in the outside diameter of both the main deck and process deck. It has a full-load displacement of more than 170,000 metric tons and a maximum oil storage capacity of 122,000 cubic meters, ranking second globally. Upon completion, it will become Asia’s largest and heaviest cylindrical offshore oil and gas factory, with the strongest oil and gas processing and storage capacity of its kind. Compared with Haikui No. 1, which was brought into operation in 2024, the FPSO for the Kaiping Project imposes higher requirements in terms of overall construction difficulty, technical complexity, and precision control. Guided by the approach of “digital and intelligent empowerment, lean construction, and independent innovation,” the project team is committed to building a safe, green, and intelligent flagship asset for deepwater development to the highest standards.

In recent years, COOEC has completed a series of major deepwater facilities, including Deep Sea No. 1, Haiji No. 1, Haiji No. 2, and Haikui No. 1, and has also delivered high-end international oil and gas equipment projects such as the Penguins FPSO. In doing so, the company has established a full-industry-chain equipment system covering the entire deepwater oil and gas exploration and development process, spanning surface, midwater, subsea, and downhole operations. This has significantly strengthened the independence and controllability of China’s offshore equipment industry and provided strong support for accelerating the development of offshore oil and gas resources in deep and remote waters and safeguarding national energy security.