A record-breaking deepwater jacket structure of China has completed its first well drilling operation, saving eight days off the planned schedule, according to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on Tuesday.
Haiji-2, China's homegrown deepwater jacket, was installed in the Pearl River Mouth Basin sea area off China's Guangdong Province in March this year, setting multiple Asian records.
The 338.5-meter-high jacket operates at an average depth of 324 meters and weighs 37,000 tons, breaking Asia's records for the structure height, weight, operational depth and construction speed.
Jackets are constructions affixed to the seabed, serving as foundations for offshore oil and gas production facilities.
Oil and gas resources in water depths exceeding 300 meters are classified as deep-sea oil and gas internationally. The extraction of these resources is significantly more challenging than that of onshore and shallow water oil and gas, often requiring more advanced equipment and technology.
The completion of the well drilling operation marks China's first development of a deepwater oilfield at depths surpassing 300 meters by using a deepwater jacket.
"Compared with the underwater development model which is relatively costly, Haiji-2 employs an above-water development approach, which effectively reduces investment costs and significantly lowers subsequent drilling, completion, and production operation expenses. This innovative model notably enhances the oilfield recovery rate and economic viability, paving a new path for the efficient and economical development of China's deepwater oil and gas resources," said Ma Yi, project manager of Liuhua Oilfield with the CNOOC.
"For the first time in China, the operational team has successfully applied miniature cost-effective underwater robots, providing visual guidance for the precise positioning and rapid navigation of risers in deep water
China's homegrown deepwater jacket completes 1st well drilling
China launched the two final backup satellites of BeiDou-3 navigation system on Thursday morning, enhancing its stability and laying foundation for the next-generation navigation system.
These latest satellites, the 59th and 60th in the series launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, were elevated into the skies by a Long March-3B carrier rocket, marking a significant step in China's advancement of its homegrown satellite navigation system.
The BeiDou-3 satellite system now has 30 in-orbit satellites, including 24 in medium earth orbit, occupying three separate orbital planes. Of the six remaining satellites, three are in geostationary earth orbit, meaning their speed follows the earth's rotation without an incline. The other three are in an inclined geosynchronous orbit, meaning they also match the earth's rotation but their altitude varies significantly along the orbit path.
Most of these satellites have been in operation for six years, providing a robust framework for precise location services.
According to BeiDou-3’s chief designer Liu Yingchun, the latest launches will ensure greater stability for the navigation system.
"All operational satellites in the BeiDou-3 constellation system are currently running stably, meeting the required indicators for year-round availability. There are now eight satellites on each medium earth orbit plane. With the launch of the two final satellites, each orbital plane will have a total of 10 satellites. These satellites require routine maintenance and management. The number of satellites able to offer services on each orbital plane must be adequate even when some satellites are undergoing maintenance. Therefore, we've deployed backup satellites on each orbital plane consecutively," Liu explained.
While strengthening the BeiDou network's service capabilities, Chinese scientists are also exploring next-generation satellite technology. Given that the majority of satellites have a designed lifespan of 10 years, China has begun plans to upgrade the BeiDou system's constellation satellites.
"Moving forward, we'll work on the deployment of BeiDou-4. The two satellites represent the final group of Beidou-3, serving as a bridge between the current and future generations. Aside from fulfilling their routine tasks as satellites of the constellation, they will also be engaged in technical validation and exploration projects," said Liu.
The BeiDou navigation satellite system, a global satellite navigation system independently developed and operated by China, has completed its three-step strategy, which is not the end but a new starting point for BeiDou. The successful construction of the BeiDou-3 system has laid a solid foundation for the development of future generations of BeiDou systems.
China aims to build a more ubiquitous, integrated and intelligent comprehensive positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system by 2035, which will serve global users better. The upcoming comprehensive PNT system will be an enhancement over the existing network, extending high-precision services globally and addressing technical challenges such as weak satellite navigation signals and interference, aiming to enable underwater and indoor navigation as well as deep space navigation.
The BeiDou system is designed to provide all-weather, all-time, high-precision positioning, navigation and timing services to users worldwide. The three-step strategy involved the development of the BeiDou-1 system by the end of 2000, the BeiDou-2 system extending services to the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2012, and the BeiDou-3 system, which officially began offering global services in 2020.
BeiDou's latest satellite launch to boost stability, advance next-gen navigation system
