China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's top offshore oil and gas driller, said its Lufeng oil fields regional development project was put into operation on Tuesday, the first time that China has carried out large-scale development of 3000-meters-deep oilfields and below in the South China Sea.

The project will also safeguard energy supply throughout the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, said Xia Qinglong, president of CNOOC Limited.

The Lufeng oil fields are located in Eastern South China Sea and mainly include Lufeng 14-4 oil field, Lufeng 14-8 oil field, Lufeng 15-1 oil field and Lufeng 22-1 oil field, with an average water depth of about 140-330 meters.

The main production facilities include two drilling production platforms and one subsea production system. As many as 35 development wells are planned to be put into production, including 26 production wells and nine water injection wells.

The project is expected to achieve its peak production of approximately 46,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2023, said CNOOC.