China National Offshore Oil, China's largest offshore oil company, has appointed Zhou Xinhuai, a geoscience expert, to become its new general manager.

Deputy GM Zhou will succeed Li Yong, who retired last December, the Beijing-based enterprise announced during an internal meeting recently. Before this, Zhou was also the chief executive of the state-owned firm's listed subsidiary.

The same day, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said that Li, the former GM, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Zhou, born in 1970, is an expert in the geological technology to explore offshore oil and gas. In October 2023, he won the field geologist category of the Li Siguang Geological Science Award, the highest academic award in geology in China. He has worked for CNOOC since 1996.

In recent years, CNOOC has made several breakthroughs in exploring oil and gas in the nation's coastal areas. On March 8, the firm announced that it had discovered the Kaiping South oil field in the South China Sea with proven geological reserves of 102 million tons of oil and gas. This is the largest and deepest oil field independently discovered by a Chinese enterprise.