CNOOC, Texaco China to extract Bohai Bay oil
( 2002-10-14 10:03 ) (1 )

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the nation's third largest oil company, has agreed with Texaco China, a subsidiary of US-based ChevronTexaco, to jointly develop a large oilfield in China's Bohai Bay.

The field, named Bozhong 25-1/25-1 South, is located 150 kilometres southeast of Tanggu in North China's Tianjin Municipality. It covers an area of 218 square kilometres and is one of the largest oilfields in Bohai Bay with oil and gas reserves estimated at 210 million cubic metres.

The field covers an oil pocket that was discovered by Texaco China and is jointly operated by the two companies, plus another pocket independently operated by CNOOC.

According to the agreement, CNOOC holds a combined 83.8 per cent of Bozhong 25-1/25-1 South: 55 per cent of its stake is in its independently operated oil pocket, and 28.8 per cent is in the jointly operated pocket. The US company takes the remainder.

CNOOC's President Zhou Shouwei said: "The agreement marks the first time for CNOOC to work as an operator in developing an oilfield that was discovered by a major foreign company.