On March 6, 2026, exciting news came from Qingdao - China's independently designed and constructed largest cylindrical "offshore oil and gas factory" in Asia - the cylindrical floating production, storage, and offloading unit (FPSO) of the Kaipingnan Oilfield Development Project has officially started construction! This not only marks a significant breakthrough in China's marine oil and gas equipment field, but also demonstrates China's strong strength in high-end marine engineering equipment manufacturing.

The cylindrical FPSO that started construction this time has a full load displacement of over 170000 tons, a maximum oil storage capacity of 122000 cubic meters, a process deck outer diameter of 110 meters, a deck area equivalent to 23 standard basketball courts, and the weight and deck outer diameter of the ship are among the highest in the world for similar equipment. This series of remarkable data all demonstrate its "giant" status.

The newly built device adopts a super high standard design that will not dock for 30 years, overcoming the technical difficulties of designing, constructing, and installing deep-sea ultra large cylindrical floating production equipment. It has achieved the first large-scale application of more than 10 domestically produced key equipment and added 15 intelligent functional modules. These technological innovations not only improve the performance and reliability of the equipment, but also promote the intelligent and high-end development of China's offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturing industry. After completion, it will become the largest and heaviest cylindrical "offshore oil and gas factory" in Asia, with the strongest oil and gas processing capacity and the highest level of intelligence.

Compared to traditional equipment, cylindrical FPSOs have higher space utilization and oil storage efficiency, demonstrating significant advantages in oil and gas development in deep-sea areas with harsh sea conditions. Its application will greatly enhance the development capability of deep-sea oil and gas resources in China, injecting strong impetus into the sustainable development of China's marine oil and gas industry.

The newly built unit will be applied to Kaipingnan Oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin. The oil field is about 300 kilometers away from Shenzhen, with an average depth of over 500 meters and proven reserves of over 100 million tons. It is the largest independently discovered oil field in China's deepwater field. Faced with the challenges of deepwater, new areas, and deep layers, oilfield development has adopted a dynamic strategy of "developing, understanding, and adjusting at the same time", innovatively creating a full sea efficient development technology system of "deepwater center+underground well network".

During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's oil and natural gas production maintained a steady and increasing trend, with offshore crude oil becoming an important "growth pole", accounting for over 60% of the country's new oil production for five consecutive years. The commencement of construction of the cylindrical FPSO will undoubtedly further promote the vigorous development of China's offshore oil and gas industry and contribute to China's energy security guarantee. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website petrochemical column editor/Yin Jiahui