TAIPEI, Aug 2 - Flagship oil firms from China and Taiwan will explore again for oil and gas in the Taiwan Strait, an ocean channel that separates the two political rivals, from September, an official from the Taiwan side said on Saturday.
Taiwan's state-run CPC Corp [CHIP.UL] and China's CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) (CEO.N) plan to drill on a tract covering 15,000 square km of the Strait, Hsu Yung-yao, CPC's acting CEO of exploration and production, told Reuters.
Under a 6-year-old deal between the two sides followed by a fruitless exploration effort five years ago, both firms will send new resources to the site with an eye on natural gas, Hsu said.
"The area is really big, and we think the odds of finding natural gas are pretty high," he said.
They will split exploration costs of about T$520 million ($16 million), Hsu said.
China, which needs new energy sources to fuel its rapid development, often allies itself with partners offshore to explore for oil and share commercial findings.
China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.
Although trade ties have warmed since 2008, the Strait remains a tense military stand-off zone.
Taiwan's state-run CPC Corp [CHIP.UL] and China's CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) (CEO.N) plan to drill on a tract covering 15,000 square km of the Strait, Hsu Yung-yao, CPC's acting CEO of exploration and production, told Reuters.
Under a 6-year-old deal between the two sides followed by a fruitless exploration effort five years ago, both firms will send new resources to the site with an eye on natural gas, Hsu said.
"The area is really big, and we think the odds of finding natural gas are pretty high," he said.
They will split exploration costs of about T$520 million ($16 million), Hsu said.
China, which needs new energy sources to fuel its rapid development, often allies itself with partners offshore to explore for oil and share commercial findings.
China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.
Although trade ties have warmed since 2008, the Strait remains a tense military stand-off zone.
