Largest Jacket in Asia Installed in South China Sea

The highest offshore jacket has been installed in the South China Sea by China, making it the tallest jacket in Asia. Haiji Number 1 is located 200km southeast of Hong Kong and weighs 30,000 tonnes, breaking all records for the tallest deep-water offshore jacket on the continent.

In an exciting move for Asian technology, a huge offshore jacket has been placed in situ in the South China Sea. The jacket was independently designed and constructed by China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and is expected to be fully operational by September 2022, serving the Lufeng 15-1 oil field. Haiji Number 1 represents a significant advancement for China, being the first jacket that the country has designed, developed, and manufactured. It’s seen as being key to the infrastructure of the country, and a major technical advancement. There are other large jackets in use in oceans around the world but this first for China has caused a real stir.

It won’t be surprising to learn that the process of making and transporting such an enormous item isn’t a quick process. The construction work started in March 2020 in Zhuhai, Guangdong and it wasn’t until two years later, in March 2022, that the jacket was ready for installation. Measuring 302 metres tall and weighing 30,000 tonnes, Haiji Number 1 was taken by barge from its site to the ocean for installation.

The vast dimensions of the jacket meant that even the barge had to be altered to be able to carry Haiji Number 1 to its new home! Not even the largest launching barge available in Asia, Offshore Oil 229, was unable to accommodate the height and weight of Haiji Number 1.  And it wasn’t just the dimensions; with 78 metres jutting over the edge of the ship during transport, there were significant challenges to balancing the load. CNOOC confirmed that Offshore Oil 229 was upgraded to enable it to safely transport Haiji Number 1 to its new location, another impressive feat of engineering.

There are thousands of oil jackets located around the world but only 10 are able to function below 280 metres. Haiji Number 1 joins the ranks of these prestigious jackets, with its height of 302 metres that can operate in waters which are up to 300 metres deep. This makes it a real coup for China to have this jacket in its ocean. The jacket is currently fixed to the seabed at a depth of 284 metres and it will operate as a support for a fixed platform weighing 11,000 tonnes. With a deck area measuring 770 square metres, the platform will be the heaviest in China waters.

To put the sheer weight into perspective, the amount of steel required to construct Haiji Number 1 is equivalent to a medium sized aircraft carrier. It could even have been heavier but the weight had to be confined to 30,000 tonnes due to practicalities with installation. This means that it’s lighter than some other platforms which are already functioning in shallower waters. Despite its lighter weight, Haiji Number 1 has phenomenal resilience and strength, having been designed to be able to withstand some of the worst weather conditions possible. This includes tsunamis, typhoons and other once in a century extreme ocean conditions. Haiji Number 1 is strong enough to cope with whatever the ocean wants to throw at it!

The jacket will support a platform that is due to become operational from September 2022 in the Lufeng 15-1 oil field. The Lufeng oilfield situated in Pearl River Mouth Basin delivers a peak output capacity of 1.68 million tonnes annually of crude oil. The installation is hoped to boost commerce in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.