Energy war heats up! China’s Oil discovery in south China sea raises stakes conducts test drilling

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered a 100 million tonne oilfield in South China Sea, state news agency Xinhua has reported on Monday. The newly found oilfield in the eastern part of South China Sea - the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield - was located some 170 kilometres from Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, the news agency added.

China Discovers Colossal Oil Reserve

Daily output of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic meters of natural gas has been obtained after test drilling, it added. The South China Sea is largely under-explored due to territorial disputes, but the majority of discovered oil and gas are found in undisputed areas, the US Energy Information Administration quoted . China says almost all of the South China Sea is its territory, but Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines and Brunei contest that.

China military patrols South China Sea

On Friday, the Chinese military announced that it had carried out a patrol in the South China Sea, an operation that was carried out the same day that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington's ties to Manila. A representative for the People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command indicated on Saturday that the Philippines commonly called in international powers to carry out "joint patrols" and "spread unlawful assertions" within the area, destabilizing the region, per a Reuters news item.

Major Oil Find in South China Sea

Pentagon head Pete Hegseth greeted his Filipino counterpart Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday in Manila, the initial destination of his Asia tour which also covers Japan. The same day, the United States, Japan and the Philippines conducted naval exercises in the South China Sea.The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not return an emailed request for comment. Trade worth approximately $3 trillion passes each year across the South China Sea, the western Pacific's biggest marginal sea.