China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd) announced Wednesday that it has successfully brought an onstream oilfield in the Western South China Sea.

The oil field, Wei Zhou (WZ) 6-1, is producing over 2,500 barrels of oil per day, according to a company press release.

WZ 6-1 is located in the Beibu Gulf, about 65 kilometers from Beihai City of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The field, with an average water depth of 35 meters, is near WZ 11-4 and WZ 12-1 fields.

According to CNOOC Ltd., there is only one unmanned wellhead platform at the WZ 6-1 oil field. It uses the facilities and subsea pipelines of adjacent WZ 12-1 oil field.

WZ 6-1 is expected to produce 3,700 barrels of oil per day at its peak, said the company.

Liu Jian, Executive Vice President of CNOOC Ltd., said the successful startup of WZ 6-1, a marginal oil field, is further evidence of the company's ability to develop oil and gas resources.

CNOOC Ltd. owns 100 percent of the field.

Incorporated in Hong Kong, CNOOC Ltd. is a 70.64 percent held subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's largest offshore oil and gas producer.