China starts oil production offshore

China National Offshore Oil Corp. announced it started oil production at a field located in the southern waters of the Bohai Bay.

CNOOC said Wednesday it started production at the Suizhong 36-1 oil field in shallow waters. The company said the construction of four new platforms for the field helps the company make development more efficient.

The company said the project is expected to hit its peak production rate at some point next year.

CNOOC didn't provide details about the expected peak rate of production.

CNOOC announced it "made a mid-sized new exploration discovery" in a similar region last week.

The area is estimated to hold as much as 146 billion barrels of oil.