100,000-metric ton platforms starts drilling for gas

On June 25, 2021, Shenhai Yihao (Deep Sea No 1), the world's first 100,000-metric ton deep-sea, semi-submersible oil production and storage platform, began drilling at Lingshui 17-2, an offshore gas field located 150 kilometers south of Hainan island in the South China Sea.

The domestically designed platform aims to tap into the gas reserve 1,500 meters beneath the ocean surface. The rig can produce about 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, roughly 1.6 percent of China's total gas output last year, according to China National Offshore Oil Corp.