On March 25, a delivery ceremony was held for the “Haiyang Shiyou 166” platform, built by Wuhu Shipyard (Nantong) Shipbuilding. This marks the second “major national asset” delivered by Wuhu Shipyard within a month, following the delivery of China’s first large-scale hydraulic fracturing vessel, the “Haiyang Shiyou 696,” in early March.
The “Haiyang Shiyou 166” platform is the largest, heaviest, most versatile, most intelligent, and deepest-draft self-installing platform among China’s mobile offshore oil production facilities of its kind. It measures 62 meters in length, 46 meters in width, and 6.2 meters in depth, with a deck area equivalent to seven standard basketball courts. Designed with a light-ship construction weight of 11,500 metric tons, it integrates more than 3,900 units of various equipment. With a maximum operating water depth of 45 meters, the platform is equipped with four cylindrical legs, each with a total height of 85 meters.
During construction, the Nantong base project team overcame key technical challenges, including precision control of large modular structures, coordinated commissioning of complex process systems, and optimized layout of heavy equipment within limited deck space. The platform achieves a highly integrated, “one-stop” layout for offshore oilfield processing functions by combining the full-cycle oil, gas, and water treatment systems of both self-elevating and conventional platforms with production utility and living support modules.
Once the platform becomes operational, it will be deployed to the Beibu Gulf to support the development of the western section of the Weizhou 10-3 oilfield, and is expected to produce an annual output of 500,000 cubic meters of crude oil for China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
In early March, Wuhu Shipyard delivered the fracturing vessel “Haiyang Shiyou 696” to CNOOC. As the world’s largest and China’s first fracturing vessel, it is a key piece of equipment for boosting oil and gas production and injection at sea. The “Haiyang Shiyou 166” is the most versatile self-installing oil and gas production platform and a “jack-of-all-trades” for developing marginal oilfields. Each vessel has its own strengths; together, they tackle technical challenges in offshore oil and gas development equipment, providing robust support for ensuring national energy security.
Offshore engineering equipment is a “national asset” for the development of marine resources. For many years, Wuhu Shipyard has consistently focused on the field of high-tech, high-value-added offshore engineering equipment. In 2014, Wuhu Shipyard set the domestic record for the shortest construction time with its 65M offshore support vessel. By independently developing a process for 7-series high-strength aluminum alloy, the shipyard successfully bridged a domestic technological gap and established its brand in the offshore support vessel sector.