BP Acquires Interest in Block 42/05 South China Sea

The block covers an area of 6939 square kilometers. Chevron acquired the remaining 59.18 per cent and will be the operator during the exploration phase under the amendment agreements to a production sharing contract with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). CNOOC Limited, a listed arm of CNOOC, has the right to back-in to a level of 51% during the development phase of the production sharing contract.
“BP is currently a partner with CNOOC Limited, producing gas from the Yacheng 13-1 field in the South China Sea for supply into Hong Kong and Hainan Province. This new opportunity in Block 42/05 is a significant step to increasing our footprint in the region, as well as building on our existing business in the South China Sea. We look forward to working with CNOOC and Chevron on this new block,” said William Lin, BP's head of Asia Pacific Exploration & Production.
BP has been operating in China since the early 1970s and has business activities which include offshore gas production, chemical joint ventures, aviation fuel supply, LPG import and marketing, oil product and lubricant retailing, solar power installations and manufacturing, chemicals joint ventures manufacturing and technology licensing. BP’s total investment of US$4.7 billion at the end of 2009 makes BP one of the leading foreign investors in China.