China completes construction of record-breaking deepwater jacket structure

The photo taken on March 12, 2024, shows the construction site of the Haiji-2 deepwater jacket structure in south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo provided by China National Offshore Oil Corporation)

SHENZHEN, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China has completed the construction of a record-breaking deepwater jacket structure in the southern province of Guangdong, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on Tuesday.

The 338.5-meter Haiji-2 jacket will operate at an average depth of 324 meters and weighs 37,000 tonnes, breaking Asian records for structure height, weight, operational depth and construction speed, the company said.

Jackets are constructions affixed to the seabed, serving as foundations for offshore oil and gas production facilities.

Haiji-2 utilizes a newly developed 420-megapascal ultra-high-strength steel plate that is considered an innovative and cost-effective lightweight design for large-scale ocean platforms, according to Fu Dianfu at the CNOOC research institute.

The jacket also showcases the country's capability of building ultra-large deepwater fixed jackets at depths of over 300 meters, said Wang Huoping, an engineer at the company's Shenzhen branch.

Haiji-2 is expected to be installed soon at an oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin sea area.