China National Offshore Oil Corp said on Wednesday that its Payara project, in the Stabroek Block located off the coast of Guyana, has begun production and is expected to extract up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day in 2024.

The successful commencement of production at Payara is a milestone for the offshore block, as Chinese oil majors have expanded international cooperation and deepened global partnerships during the past few years, experts said.

The project has 41 sub-sea wellheads and one floating production, storage and offloading vessel, CNOOC said.

The daily production of the Stabroek Block is expected to reach about 620,000 barrels of crude oil per day by 2024, which will further the high-quality development of the company, said Zhou Xinhuai, CEO and president of CNOOC Ltd.

CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC, holds 25 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd is the operator and holds 45 percent interest, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd owns 30 percent.

According to independent research firm Rystad Energy, the block is among the best performing in the world with respect to emissions intensity, outpacing 75 percent of global oil and gas producing assets.

CNOOC has been stepping up efforts in upstream exploitation and exploration in recent years in the domestic and overseas markets, to reduce market volatility against a backdrop of energy shortages globally, said Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF.