Beijing, May 9 (IANS): China's first deep-water drilling rig started operation in the South China Sea Wednesday, marking "a substantial step" by the country's oil industry, a newspaper reported.
The sixth-generation semi-submersible CNOOC 981 began drilling in a sea area 320 km southeast of Hong Kong at a water depth of 1,500 meters, China Daily quoted the China National Offshore Oil Corp as saying.