On September 15, construction commenced on the Qatar BH EPIC project, undertaken by CNOOC, at the Qingdao International High-End Equipment Manufacturing Base.
This is the largest, most comprehensive, and most technically challenging international offshore oil and gas EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) project ever undertaken by a Chinese enterprise. It marks a further enhancement of China’s global competitiveness in high-end offshore engineering and injects strong momentum into the high-quality advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the deepening of international oil and gas cooperation.
The BH project is located in the waters of the Bul Hanine oilfield in Qatar and is being developed by QatarEnergy. With a maximum water depth of approximately 40 meters, the project has a total contract value of around US$4 billion (approximately RMB 27 billion). The scope of work includes the construction of over 60 offshore oil and gas facility units and the laying of 40 subsea pipelines and cables, as well as the modification of existing platforms and the decommissioning and removal of platforms. The project involves a total steel processing volume exceeding 130,000 tonnes and encompasses the full project lifecycle, including engineering design, procurement, construction, transportation, installation, and commissioning.
In recent years, CNOOC has continued to deepen its presence in the high-end international offshore energy engineering market. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the company secured over 170 overseas projects—spanning Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uganda, and Thailand—and repeatedly broke records for single-project contract values achieved by Chinese enterprises in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It successfully delivered a series of landmark projects with significant global impact, such as Canada LNG, the Penguin FPSO, and Saudi Arabia’s Marjan project, thereby achieving a historic transformation from an engineering subcontractor to an international general contractor, and ultimately to a provider of “comprehensive package” international general contracting services.
Moving forward, CNOOC will leverage the high-quality execution of the Qatar BH EPIC project to vigorously build comprehensive, end-to-end solution capabilities across the entire international offshore energy engineering value chain. It will accelerate its transformation into a world-class enterprise and drive high-quality international oil and gas cooperation through a high-level “engineering + products + services” model, thereby continuing to contribute Chinese solutions, wisdom, and strength to global blue energy development.