The Satus of the Petroleum Exploration in the Northern South China Sea and the Resource Potential in the Deep-water Areas Quite a lot of oil fields have been explored in the sedimentary basins over the shallow sea in the northern south China sea; moreover, considerable production capability has been set up since the earliest oil seepage survey and shallow sea drilling in the 1960s. However, to explore new oilfields and sustain a stable development is a major challenge the petroleum developer confronted in this region. Preliminary analysis shows, the deep-water slope of the northern South China Sea has bright prospecting future as many other deep water sedimentary basins over the world. Recent gas discovery by the exploration drilling hole LW-3-1-1 further supports the fact that the deep slope is an ideal petroleum complementaty area, and a tactic target area.