Phase two of the Dongfang 1-1 Gas Field, China's second largest offshore gas field, has been put into production, according to China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) on Wednesday.

Three out of the project's 16 wells currently produce 1 million cubic meters of natural gas daily, said officials with the Zhanjiang branch of the CNOOC.

Dongfang 1-1 Gas Field, the first maritime natural gas field developed independently by China, could have a yearly capacity of 2.78 billion cubic meters when all the wells are put into production, the officials said.

The phase two project will supply natural gas for a major methanol plant in Hainan Province which is under construction and expected to begin production in August.

Construction of phase two started in April 2004 and includes two drilling platforms, 16 wells, two seabed pipelines measuring 5.6 km each and two seabed cables measuring 9.2 km each.

Phase one went into production in 2003 with annual output of 1.6 billion cubic meters.

Gas from the phase one suppies a local chemical fertilizer project in Hainan Province, a power plant in Yangpu in Hainan and Haikou City, the provincial capital.

Located in the Yinggehai waters of the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea, approximately 113 km from the city of Dongfang, the gas field covers nearly 288 sq km with 99.68 billion cubic meters of gas reserves.

Source: Xinhua