CNOOC, Husky sign exploration agreement
( 2003-11-04 10:58) (China Daily HK Edition)
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country's dominant producer of crude oil and natural gas, signed a contract with Husky Oil China Limited yesterday to explore oil and gas in the East China Sea. The proposed exploration field, Block 04/35, is located about 350 kilometres east of Shanghai.
Zhang Guohua, senior vice-president of CNOOC, said since the East China Sea is under-explored currently, there is a great opportunity for the company and its partner to tap oil and gas in the area.
Husky Oil China, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, is committed to drill one wildcat to a depth of 2,500 meters during the first three years of the contract, and will fund 100 per cent of the exploration expenditure. Meanwhile, CNOOC Limited is entitled to participate in up to 51 per cent interest in any commercial discoveries within the contract area.
At the end of last year, CNOOC's net proven reserves reached 2 billion barrels-of-oil equivalent (BOE) and its net production averaged 353,102 BOE per day for the first nine months of this year.
CNOOC has been the most active acquirer among the three Chinese oil majors, spending nearly US$2 billion buying oil and gas assets in Indonesia and Australia since last year.
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