The amendments follow agreements signed earlier by Chevron to buy a 59.18% interest in block 42/05 and a 100% interest in blocks 64/18 and 53/30 from US independent Devon in the exploration phase, and by BP to take the remaining interest of Devon in block 42/05.
CNOOC had signed three PSCs with Devon in 2005 and 2006 for the blocks 42/05, 64/18 and 53/30.
Block 42/05, located in Baiyun Sag of the Pearl River mouth basin in the eastern South China Sea, covers a total area of 6,939 sq km. Blocks 64/18 and 53/30 are located in the Qiong Dong Nan Basin in the western South China Sea covering 7,712 and 6,313 sq km respectively. The acreages lie in water depths ranging from 300 to 2,000 meters.
During the exploration period, Chevron will act as the operator in the three blocks. CNOOC has the right to participate in up to a 51% interest in the event of any commercial discovery in the blocks.
"We welcome Chevron and BP to become our new partners in these blocks and look forward to the joint exploration of the great deepwater potential in the South China Sea," CNOOC EVP and general manager of the exploration department Zhu Weilin said in a statement.
Devon is selling all its China assets as part of a divestiture of its offshore and international oil and gas operations to focus on its onshore assets in North America. In June, the company completed a $515 million sale of its 24.5% interest in a producing shallow-water oil block in the South China
Sea to CNOOC.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
