BEIJING, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A Chinese oil company said Friday it started production at an oil field off the northern coast of China that has 57 planned production wells.
China National Offshore Oil Corp. announced Friday its Penglai 19-9 project in the shallow waters of Bohai Bay started production.
"There are 57 planned producing wells in total with two wells currently producing approximately 750 barrels of crude oil per day," the company said. "The adjustment project is expected to reach its overall development program designed peak production of approximately 13,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2019."
Nearly a year-to-date, CNOOC, the country's largest producer, lowered its production forecast in part because of emerging pressures from lower crude oil prices. A downturn in the Chinese economy in early 2016 contributed to weak demand against increased output from countries like the United States to push oil prices below $30 per barrel.
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CNOOC set a 2016 spending target at around $9 billion, down 11 percent from the previous year. By the third quarter, the company said it was still under pressure and slashed spending by 20 percent year-on-year.
Third quarter net production was 117.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, down 7.7 percent from last year. Through the first part of 2016, the company said it made only one new discovery offshore.
According to economists with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the amount of crude oil held in storage in China increased slightly last year as the country diverted more oil into its strategic reserves. Oil demand growth, OPEC said, was "solid-to-steady" for one of the world's leading economies
A review of national data from S&P Global Platts, meanwhile, found China became a net exporter of oil products for the first time in October, with net output coming in at around 4,000 barrels per day.
