Rising from the sea approximately 250 kilometers southeast of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, is Haiji-2—China’s record-breaking deepwater jacket. This colossal steel structure stretches skyward like a mighty arm, supporting a vast production platform above the waves.Haiji-2 serves as the cornerstone in the secondary development project of the Liuhua Oilfield, China’s first deepwater oilfield. It integrates drilling, production, and living quarters into a single facility. Soaring to a total height of 428 meters, Haiji-2 features an underwater section that alone measures 338.5 meters.As an offshore oil and gas processing hub, Haiji-2 channels crude oil via pipeline to its partner facility, Haikui No.1, Asia’s first cylindrical floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. There, the crude is processed into market-ready oil, stored, and eventually shipped by tankers to various ports. Since the commissioning of its first batch of wells in September 2024, Haikui No.1 has achieved a daily crude oil production rate of up to 3,900 tonnes, setting a new capacity record
.Haiji-2, China’s record-breaking deepwater jacket structure, at a height of 428 meters, with an underwater section measuring 338.5 meters. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)Haiji-2 is composed of a deepwater jacket structure and an upper oil and gas production facility. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)
The multi-level decks of Haiji-2. The above-sea portion of the platform is approximately 100 meters high. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)
Shu Zhengyong, platform director of Haiji-2, during an inspection round. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)
Liang Tianjiang, chief electrician, pulls out a low-voltage switchgear drawer for maintenance at the electrical switchroom of Haiji-2. (Photo by Xu
Xun/China Pictorial)