First Oil Tanker Shipment Completed from Chinese Oil Field Starting Production This September
Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, visited the Chinese block site of its subsidiary SK Earth On and said, "I am pleased that the dream of the late SK Chairman Chey Jong-hyun to become a 'Global Operator' (a resource development specialist company) has come to fruition under SK Chairman Chey Tae-won."
On the 21st, Vice Chairman Kim, along with Myungseong, President of SK Earth On, visited the 17/03 block in the northeastern South China Sea and emphasized, "This is the first successful case of independent technology by SK Earth On, from crude oil exploration to development, production, and shipment." He added, "This year marks 40 years since SK Innovation started resource development and 34 years since participating in operating rights. The resilience built by not giving up despite numerous failures has borne fruit."
Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation (eighth from the left), is taking a group photo with members on the 21st to commemorate the first crude oil shipment from the crude oil production platform in Block 17/03 in the northeastern South China Sea. [Photo by SK Innovation]
On this day, SK Earth On, a resource development subsidiary of SK Innovation, completed its first crude oil shipment from the LF (Lufeng) 12-3 oil field within the 17/03 block in China. This was about two months after production began in September. The crude oil shipped that day was approximately 400,000 barrels, accounting for about 15% of South Korea's daily oil consumption. The crude oil, loaded onto oil tankers from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility via above-water and underwater hoses, is scheduled to be transported to designated buyers.
Vice Chairman Kim and President Myung visited various locations of the crude oil production platform and the FPSO within the 17/03 block in China to inspect business issues.
The 17/03 block in China is the first case where SK Earth On succeeded in crude oil production as an operator. After signing a block contract with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in 2015, SK Earth On discovered crude oil during exploratory drilling in 2018. Subsequently, it went through development stages including reservoir evaluation and production platform construction, and began crude oil production last September.
SK Earth On loaded crude oil produced from Block 17/03 located in the northeastern South China Sea onto a tanker via floating and underwater hoses on the 21st. [Photo by SK Innovation]
The daily production volume of the 17/03 block in China, located about 300 km from Shenzhen City, is approximately 29,500 barrels at peak production. SK Earth On expects to record sales of about 500 billion KRW from the 17/03 block in China next year.
President Myung said, "We hope to continue focusing on stable crude oil production at the 17/03 block in China. Additionally, we will reduce carbon dioxide emissions generated during the crude oil production phase to create a new milestone in resource development business."
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