China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's top offshore oil and gas driller, announced on Monday that its oilfield joint venture in Guyana in South America has commenced production safely and ahead of schedule on Monday.

The Liza Phase II oilfield, located in the Stabroek block off Guyana coast, includes one floating production storage and offloading unit and 30 subsea wellheads. It is expected to reach its peak production of about 220,000 barrels of crude oil per day within this year, CNOOC said.

"Liza Phase II achieved an auspicious start for the company's new projects to be commissioned this year," said Xia Qinglong, president of CNOOC.

"The continuous exploration and development achievements at the Stabroek block will ... propel the company's production growth and will also make a positive contribution to the sustainable development of Guyana's economy and society."

The total recoverable resources of the Stabroek block are estimated to be over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

By 2027, at least six floating production storage and offloading units are expected to produce more than 1 million barrels of oil per day from the block, CNOOC said.

CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Ltd, holds a 25 percent stake in the venture. Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd is the operator and holds a 45 percent stake, with the remaining 30 percent owned by Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd.

The company has been stepping up overseas oil and gas development in recent years.

CNOOC Uganda Ltd, an oil and gas subsidiary of CNOOC, announced on Feb 1 that its final investment decision on the development of the Kingfisher Development Area, which will produce 40,000 barrels of oil per day during peak production, is expected to pave the way for commercialization of the oil and gas resources in the country in a sustainable manner.

Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF, said CNOOC accounted for more than half of China's total oil and gas output addition last year, and so has been seeking to use its engineering prowess to become a major energy player worldwide.

CNOOC's continuous upstream investment and production commitment will also play a critical role in China's energy supply security, Li said. "The company's oil and gas production is expected to rise more than 6 percent each year during the 2022 to 2024 period."

The Liza Phase II oilfield's floating production storage and offloading unit is the second production facility in the block after the one serving Liza Phase I. It was constructed in China and Singapore before arriving in Guyana in October 2021.

It is moored at a water depth of about 1,650 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil, said CNOOC.