CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) has launched its first flagship deepwater pipelay vessel, the Haiyangshiyou 201. The vessel will be put to use at one of the company’s fields in the South China Sea following the delivery, which is expected to be at the end of this year.
The vessel has a capacity of working in water depths of up to 3,000 meters and can lay five kilometers of subsea pipeline per day. It has a lifting capacity of 4,000 tons. CNOOC said that it is part of a warm-up activity before starting subsea pipelaying services at Husky’s Liwan 13-1 gas field in the South China Sea.
South China Sea is the most important drilling location among CNOOC’s major production areas in offshore China. Along with its peers, the company has been actively investing in the natural gas business, which is expected to witness strong growth in the coming years as China transits from coal to natural gas.
At present, two-thirds of China’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants, which emit greenhouse gases leading to air pollution.
We believe CNOOC’s underlying valuation will gain support on the back of its premium assets portfolio, excellent execution strategy and unique position as a pure oil player.
While the international inventory of development projects will help the company to sustain long term growth, we still believe that deepwater South China Sea is under-explored and remain a core area in delivering growth for the company.
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