The offshore oil production platform at Kenli 6-1 oilfield, a large-scale oilfield with 100 million tonnes of reserves in north China's Bohai Sea, completed its floatover installation on Tuesday.

Kenli 6-1 oilfield is the first large-scale oilfield of 100 million tonnes in the northern area of Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea. The platform is expected to increase oil and gas production in the country's largest crude oil production base, the offshore oilfield cluster in Bohai Bay.

The 36.5-meter high platform, weighing 15,500 tonnes,  is the heaviest installation in the Bohai Bay as its projected area is equivalent to the cumulative size of 11 basketball courts. The floatover installation is adopted as the traditional approach of using the offshore floating crane to construct the platform can no longer work due to the massive weight.

"We have completed the construction and installation of the platform on the land as much as possible and greatly shortened the offshore construction period," said Wen Jinlai, head of the construction project at China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) in Tianjin. 

The platform will join the other 15 platforms in the Bohai Oilfield to optimize utilization and maximize development.

"Kenli 6-1 oilfield has six intelligent unmanned platforms, the most unmanned platforms in the Bohai Bay so far. To put the oilfield into production as soon as possible, all of its structural units are designed and constructed efficiently. The oilfield will start its operation within this year," said Xu Jianjun, director of the local business at CNOOC in Tianjin.