Nation achieves breakthrough in oil and gas platform construction

China's heaviest international offshore oil and gas platform, built by China Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd and officially delivered in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Monday, is a breakthrough in the construction technology of large-scale offshore oil and gas equipment in the country, said industry experts.

The platform, weighing 17,000 metric tons, will be transported by a large cargo ship to its installation site 6,400 nautical miles away in the waters off Saudi Arabia at the end of this month, according to the company, which is China's leading offshore contractor and a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp.

The successful delivery of the project, after 34 months of construction, not only demonstrates China's engineering and technical service capabilities in the offshore oil and gas sector, but also reflects the deep advancement of China's comprehensive energy cooperation with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative across the entire industry chain, said Wang Lining, director of the oil market department of the Economics and Technology Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corp.