Production is expected to reach its peak level of around 22,000 barrels per day by the first quarter of next year.

Offshore infrastructure at Zhao Dong includes two large platforms, each weighing 6,000 tons, which are the largest ever fabricated in China. Construction of the platforms was completed with a world-class safety record, just two lost-time incidents in two million man-hours.

The initial drilling phase of the project included 17 wells drilled primarily to the Guantao formation. Once completion operations are finished on these Guantao wells, drilling will resume to develop additional Guantao and Minghuazhen reservoirs. Drilling results to date have identified several new reservoirs.

Batch drilling and casing processes were used to enhance use of rig time and resources. Drilling with casing was used for the surface casing with world-record results for drilling penetration rates. The process greatly reduced drilling and casing time and the associated costs.