On March 6, 2026, the largest self-designed and constructed cylindrical "offshore oil and gas plant" in Asia, the cylindrical floating production, storage, and unloading unit of the Kaipingnan Oilfield Development Project, started construction in Qingdao.

Floating production storage and unloading equipment is an offshore oil and gas development equipment that integrates the functions of offshore oil and gas extraction, processing, storage, and export, and is known as the "offshore oil and gas factory".

The cylindrical floating production oil storage and unloading device under 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, and a deck area equivalent to 23 standard basketball courts. The weight of the ship and the outer diameter of the deck rank first among similar equipment in the world.

Shu Wei, General Manager of Kaiping Oilfield Engineering Construction of CNOOC Engineering: The new facility adopts a 30-year non return to dock ultra-high standard design, overcomes the design, construction, and installation technology of deepwater ultra large cylindrical floating production equipment, realizes the first large-scale application of more than 10 domestically produced key equipment, and adds 15 intelligent functional modules. 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.

As a new high-end marine oil and gas equipment, the cylindrical FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit) has higher space utilization and storage efficiency compared to traditional equipment, and has obvious advantages in oil and gas development in deep-sea areas with harsh sea conditions.

The new device will be applied to Kaipingnan Oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin. The oilfield is about 300km away from Shenzhen, with an average water depth of more than 500m, and proved reserves of more than 100 million tons. It is the largest oilfield independently discovered in the deepwater field in China.

Wang Huoping, Deputy General Manager of Kaiping Oilfield Development Project of CNOOC Shenzhen Company: The sea area where the oilfield is located has the characteristics of deep water, new areas, and deep layers, and adopts a dynamic strategy of "developing, understanding, and adjusting at the same time". A new cylindrical floating production, storage, and unloading oil device with a full load displacement of over 170000 tons and an oil storage capacity of over 120000 cubic meters, along with supporting submarine pipelines and more than 30 sets of underwater production trees, will be built to innovate and create a fully sea efficient development technology system for the cylindrical floating production, storage, and unloading oil device of "deepwater center+underground well network".

During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's oil and natural gas production has steadily increased, with offshore crude oil becoming an important "growth pole", accounting for over 60% of the country's new oil production for five consecutive years.Editor/Yang Meiling