China's Rival Oil Giants to Share New Oil FieldThe China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will hold a 50 percent stake in a key offshore oil field discovered by rivaling Sinopec Star Petroleum Corp."The two companies will jointly explore and develop the oil and gas reserves in the Xihu Trough in the East China Sea," said a CNOOC spokesman. "It was a misunderstanding that some media speculated that CNOOC will take a 50 percent stake in Sinopec Star," said Xiao Zhongwei, the investor relations manager with the CNOOC, "we simply talk about the cooperation in this project." The CNOOC's listing vehicle, which plans to debut on the New York and Hong Kong stock markets later this month, will raise up to US$1.36 billion. Xihu Trough field, 350 kilometers southeast of Shanghai, is estimated to boast 1,000 billion cubic meters of natural gas, with crude oil reserves holding 1.2 billion tons. Sinopec Star is currently developing the field and daily harvesting 1.44 million cubic meters of natural gas from the area's Chunxiao field. |
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