Cnooc South China Sea Gas Pipe Resumes Operation After 48 Days

Cnooc Ltd., China's third-largest oil and gas producer, resumed operations of a South China Sea gas pipeline after a 48-day shutdown for repairs.

The pipeline restarted gas supplies to plants that produce methanol and urea on Dec. 24, the Beijing-based company's parent, China National Offshore Oil Corp., said in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday.

The link, which carries gas from Cnooc's Dongfang 1-1 gas field to the southern province of Hainan, was shut on Nov. 6, after being damaged during engineering work. Cnooc said at the time it would take between 40 and 50 days for repairs.

Dongfang 1-1 has had annual production capacity of 2.4 billion cubic meters since starting operations in 2003, China National Offshore said in the statement.

The shutdown won't cause Cnooc to miss 2007 full-year production targets, spokesman Xiao Zongwei said Dec. 7. The nation's largest offshore oil producer said last January it expects to pump between 162 million barrels and 170 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2007.