CNOOC discovers deepwater gas field south of Hainan

China National Offshore Oil Corp announced Monday its discovery of a deepwater gas field about 150km south of the island province of Hainan, South China Morning Post reported. The semi-submersible rig, once at the center of a dispute with Vietnam but now relocated to undisputed waters, is expected to produce 56.5 million cubic feet of gas per day at an average operational depth of 1.5km. CNOOC chairman Wang Yilin was quoted by Xinhua as saying the discovery opened the door to deepwater oil and gas resources in the South China Sea.