CNOOC, CNPC and KazMunayGas to team up in Caspian sea exploration

/REUTERS, Peking, September 8, 05/ - China's leading offshore oil producer, CNOOC, said it had agreed to work with state energy giant CNPC and Kazakh peer KazMunaiGaz on exploration and development of a block in the northeastern section of the Caspian sea. The three firms signed a memorandum of understanding at the end of August to cooperate in the Darkhan block, the state-owned parent of listed CNOOC Ltd said in a statement posted on its Web site. "Entering into this area has long been one of CNOOC's strategic priorities of its overseas development," the firm said, although officials declined to comment on when a firm deal would be signed. The Kazakh section of the Caspian sea was estimated to hold up to 13.45 billion tonnes (98 billion barrels) of oil, the statement added. CNOOC and peer Sinopec Corp. were thwarted in 2003 in their attempt to buy a BG Group stake in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan field, when existing partners of the project blocked the deal. With rising imports already meeting over 40 percent of the country's oil needs, Chinese firms are searching abroad for assets to help meet their country's growing thirst for energy. [2005-09-09]