Latest SZ China Reports Updates

• SZ China Natural Gas Bi-weekly Report Apr 1-15,2012 [Apr. 25, 2012]
• SZ China Natural Gas Quarterly Report Q1 2012 [Apr. 3, 2012]
• SZ China Refining Monthly Report-Mar’2012 [Apr. 2, 2012]
• SZ China Natural Gas Bi-weekly Report Mar 16-31,2012 [Apr. 2, 2012]
• SZ China Natural Gas Bi-weekly Report Mar 1-15,2012 [Apr. 2, 2012]

• SZ China Natural Gas Bi-weekly Report Apr 1-15,2012
  [Apr. 25, 2012] 
• SZ China Natural Gas Quarterly Report Q1 2012
  [Apr. 3, 2012] 
• SZ China Refining Monthly Report-Mar’2012
  [Apr. 2, 2012] 

• SZ China LPG Prices Daily Alert May 15, 2012
  [May 15, 2012] 
• SZ China LPG Prices Daily Alert May 14, 2012
  [May 14, 2012] 
• SZ China LPG Prices Daily Alert May 11, 2012
  [May 11, 2012] 

[Apr. 30, 2012] US energy giant ConocoPhillips China and its partner the China National Offshore Oil Corp have agreed to pay 1.68 billion yuan ($267 million) for the oil leaks off northern Bohai Bay, China’s maritime watchdog announced on Friday. ConocoPhillips China will pay 1.09 billion yuan in compensation for the oil spills, while China National Offshore Oil Corp and the Chinese unit of ConocoPhillips will pay 480 million yuan and 113 million yuan respectively for environmental protection efforts in Bohai Bay, according to the State Oceanic Administration.

[Apr. 27, 2012] CNOOC Ltd<0883>, the largest offshore oil company in China, produced a total of 79.8 million barrels of oil equivalent or BOE in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a year-on-year decline of 6.3% from 85.2 million BOE.

[Apr. 27, 2012] PetroChina Co. (857)’s first-quarter profit rose unexpectedly after it ramped up oil and gas production, while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028)’s earnings slumped on losses from selling fuels at state-controlled prices. Net income rose 5.8 percent from a year earlier to 39.2 billion yuan ($6.2 billion), PetroChina reported yesterday, beating the 34.8 billion yuan mean estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Profit at Sinopec, as China Petroleum is known, slumped 35 percent, almost triple the pace forecast by analysts.

[Apr. 25, 2012] Oil giant ONGC along with a Vietnamese company will launch joint exploration for oil in the South China Sea despite objections from China, a top company official said on Tuesday.

[Apr. 25, 2012] China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd.’s (CNOOC Ltd.) oil and gas output declined 6.3 percent year-on-year to 79.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012, according to a filing made Tuesday with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

[Apr. 25, 2012] China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd, the country’s biggest marine oil producer, said on Tuesday that its net production in the first quarter declined by 6.3 percent year-on-year to 79.8 million barrels of oil equivalent.

[Apr. 23, 2012] CNOOC today announced that the company has made another successful discovery Dongfang(DF)13-2 in high-temperature and high-pressure natural gas reservoir in Yinggehai following the successful appraisal of the middle formation of DF 13-1 gas field in 2010.

[Apr. 19, 2012] State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), one of China’s three major state-owned oil companies, announced on April 17 that its Penglai 9-1 oilfield has been appraised as the largest found in Bohai Bay in recent years.

[Apr. 19, 2012] China’s largest offshore oil producer said Tuesday that an oilfield it discovered in east China’s Bohai Sea two years ago has proven to be the largest found in recent years in the region.

[Apr. 18, 2012] CNOOC Ltd, China’s leading offshore oil/gas producer, said it has successfully appraised a new oilfield, the largest discovered in the Bohai Bay in recent years.

[Apr. 18, 2012] China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country’s largest offshore oil producer, announced Tuesday that it has successfully appraised the Penglai(PL)9-1 hydrocarbon bearing structure following its discovery in 2010. The appraisal confirmed that PL9-1 is a large oil field.

[Apr. 18, 2012] Chinese state-controlled monopoly offshore producer China National Offshore Oil Corp has confirmed its Penglai 9-1 discovery, made in Bohai Bay in 2010, as a "large oil field," after it produced at around 700 b/d during testing, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

[Apr. 18, 2012] China should take "strong measures" to protect its interests in oil and gas development in the South China Sea as Beijing’s oft-repeated call for peaceful resolution through dialogue has not been effective, Li Jinming, a professor with Xiamen University’s Center for Southeast Asia Studies, told Interfax on Tuesday.

[Apr. 18, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp.’s (CNPC) Iraqi oil assets produced 7.48 million tons of crude oil in the first quarter of the year (Q1), on schedule with 2012 output targets, CNPC announced April 17.

[Apr. 18, 2012] CNOOC Ltd, China’s leading offshore oil/gas producer, said it has successfully appraised a new oilfield, the largest discovered in the Bohai Bay in recent years. One well in the Penglai 9-1 field is tested to have a daily yield of around 700 barrels, the company said. The field was discovered in 2010.

[Apr. 17, 2012] Cnooc Ltd. /quotes/zigman/274848/quotes/nls/ceo CEO -0.44% , China’s largest offshore oil producer, said Tuesday that it has confirmed the size of a crude-oil deposit at its Penglai 9-1 field and discovered crude at its Penglai 15-2 field in Bohai Bay.

[Apr. 17, 2012] PetroChina’s Changqing Oilfield recently there were two oil spills, exposed hidden behind the prosperity of the oil field production reached new highs.

[Apr. 16, 2012] A standoff between Chinese and Filipino vessels in a disputed region of the South China Sea entered into its fourth day Friday, presenting Beijing with a diplomatic headache as it struggles to contain fallout from a domestic political scandal and the failed missile launch by its close ally and neighbor North Korea.

[Apr. 16, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp.’s (CNPC) giant Changqing Oilfield in the Ordos Basin is expected to produce 29 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2012, Liu Xinshe, an engineer with PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Co., told Interfax on Thursday.

[Apr. 13, 2012] Shengli Oil Field, the largest oil field under Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, produced 6.83 million metric tons of crude oil in the first quarter of this year, 1.4% more than in the same period of last year.

[Apr. 13, 2012] Shengli Oil Field, the largest oil field under Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, produced 6.83 million metric tons of crude oil in the first quarter of this year, 1.4% more than in the same period of last year.

[Apr. 12, 2012] China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s (SNP) largest oil field by output, produced 6.83 million metric tons, or 550,000 barrels a day, of crude oil in the first quarter, up 1.4 percent compared with January-March last year, the company said Wednesday.

[Apr. 12, 2012] Given the amount of rhetoric we’re exposed to these days about U.S. energy independence, you’d think our addiction to foreign oil would be headed downhill — even if only at a snail’s pace.

[Apr. 12, 2012] China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. (CNOOC Ltd.), the listed arm of the country’s leading offshore energy producer, has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with Italian major Eni for a deepwater block in the South China Sea, CNOOC Ltd. announced on Wednesday.

[Apr. 12, 2012] "After the new announcement, exploitation costs for joint venture projects will marginally increase, and based on the types of the mineral resources, the compensation fees will range between 0.5 and 4 percent of the sales revenues," L¨1 said.

[Apr. 11, 2012] Interfax-China reported that China National Petroleum Corp crude oil output from domestic and overseas assets grew 5.54%YoY to 149.27 million tons in 2011, the highest increase since 2008.

[Apr. 10, 2012] Four Chinese employees from state oil firm CNPC and two French crew members were killed in a helicopter crash in Niger’s Tenere desert, two Nigerien security sources said on Monday.

[Apr. 9, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp.’s (CNPC) crude oil output from domestic and overseas assets grew 5.54 percent from a year earlier to 149.27 million tons in 2011, the highest increase since 2008, according to CNPC’s 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility Report released on Friday.

[Apr. 9, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp is negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another foreign firm to jointly explore shale oil in the Santanghu Basin of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the latest move after the two oil majors inked the country’s first production-sharing contract for a shale gas block in Sichuan province in March.

[Apr. 6, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp is negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another foreign firm to jointly explore shale oil in the Santanghu Basin of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the latest move after the two oil majors inked the country’s first production-sharing contract for a shale gas block in Sichuan province in March.

[Apr. 5, 2012] China has once again warned India against exploring oil in the South China Sea. The warning came a day after China lost ground on the issue at the ASEAN summit that ended in Cambodia on Wednesday. The South China Sea dispute was discussed at the ASEAN summit despite Beijing’s best efforts to block a discussion.

[Apr. 3, 2012] U.S. energy giant ConocoPhillips and CNOOC Ltd. have agreed to jointly pay 305 million yuan (US$48 million) in compensation to Chinese fishermen and restore the maritime environment in the Bohai Bay area after a major oil spill there last year, state media reported on Sunday.

[Apr. 3, 2012] US supermajor ConocoPhillips and China’s CNOOC Ltd have agreed to jointly pay 305 million yuan ($48 million) in compensation to Chinese fishermen and restore the maritime environment in the Bohai Bay area, following an oil spill last year.

[Apr. 2, 2012] CNOOC Ltd’s net profit surged a forecast-beating 29 percent last year as China’s dominant offshore oil producer benefited from higher oil and gas prices. The results came despite a flat output last year which was caused by the suspension of its Penglai 19-3 field in Bohai Bay following an oil spill accident there. The net profit rose to a record high of 70.3 billion yuan (US$11 billion) last year, the Hong Kong-listed company said yesterday, beating a mean estimate of 68.7 billion yuan by 20 analysts polled by Bloomberg News.

[Mar. 6, 2012] When Lieutenant-General Juancho Sabban received an urgent phone call from an oil company saying two Chinese vessels were threatening to ram its survey ship, the Philippine commander’s message was clear: “Don’t move, we’ll come to t

[Mar. 1, 2012] The Philippines has asserted a right to invite foreign companies to explore for oil and gas in waters located between its western coast and the South China Sea, dismissing China’s claim to the area.The verbal tussle erupted after the Philippines’ energy s

[Feb. 29, 2012] A consortium led by a joint venture between Spain’s Repsol YPF, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and Norway’s Statoil found oil at an offshore well in Brazil, state-controlled oil company Petrobras said in a securities filing on Tuesday.Petrobras, whic

[Feb. 29, 2012] Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario says the Philippines has the right to invite companies to explore for oil and gas in waters near the South China Sea, dismissing China’s claim to the area.The fresh spat between China and the Philippines erupted

[Feb. 29, 2012] China Petrochemical Corp. said it has successfully applied multistage fracturing technology to tap shale oil and gas reserves at the Shengli oil field in northern China. The achievement takes the company closer to a goal of exploiting new technologie

[Feb. 28, 2012] The firms’ Brazilian joint venture has struck oil in the Campos Basin off the coast of the South American country, it said on Monday.“The well ... drilled into a hydrocarbons column of 500 metres, one of the thickest discovered in Brazil to date,&rd

[Feb. 27, 2012] China is not known as a hot bed of new oil discoveries, but it is trying. With offshore drilling in play, China added over 1.3 billion tons of crude to its reserves last year, up 20% from 2010 numbers.China’s oil discoveries have been increasing ste

[Feb. 24, 2012] China plans to accelerate geological exploration and survey work for oil and natural gas to ease its rising reliance on energy imports, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Thursday.

[Feb. 24, 2012] PetroChina Co Ltd<601857><0857>, China’s largest oil producer, has received approval from the country’s National Development and Reform Commission to acquire a 40% stake in the MacKay River oil sands project in Canada from Athabasca Oil Sands Corp, according to the website of NDRC.

[Feb. 24, 2012] China discovered 1.37 billion tonnes of oil reserves last year, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Land and Resources said Thursday. It is the ninth year for the country to see new oil reserves rise by more than 1 billion tonnes since 1949, Xu Dachun, deputy head with the ministry’s mineral resource reserve department said at a press conference.

[Feb. 24, 2012] China found more proven geological oil and gas reserves last year than a year earlier, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Thursday. The second largest oil consuming country discovered 1.37 billion tonnes of proven geological oil reserves in 2011, up 20.6 percent from 2010, Xu Dachun, deputy head of the ministry’s mineral resources reserve department, told a press briefing.

[Feb. 24, 2012] Gulf News reported that China rebuked Iran for stopping oil sales to British and French companies at the weekend, calling for renewed efforts at dialogue over an escalating stand off over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.

[Feb. 21, 2012] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group) have won exploration rights for two offshore blocks in the South Yellow Sea Basin after China held a closed auction of conventional oil and gas resources.

[Feb. 17, 2012] British Petroleum (BP) has announced that the 43/11 deepwater blocks in the South China Sea, developed by the joint exploration of the BP, Anadarko and CNOOC exploration and development agreement last week, has received approval from the Chinese Ministry

[Feb. 16, 2012] BP has a new hydrocarbon hunting ground, off coastal China.The British “beyond petroleum” energy giant got an OK from China’s Ministry of Commerce this week to explore for natural gas and oil in the South China Sea. It will be BP’s

[Feb. 15, 2012] BP PLC has obtained approval from the Ministry of Commerce to explore in the South China Sea in what will be the company’s second deepwater project in China.BP last week received a green light to have a presence in a gas field known as block 43/11, Chen L

[Feb. 15, 2012] A group led by ROC Oil Co. Ltd., Sydney, will drill a second appraisal well in 2012 in Bohai Bay offshore China.The petroleum contract covering the 28 sq km Zhao Dong block was modified In March 2011 to include the adjacent 16 sq km Zhanghai block and 26

[Feb. 10, 2012] Exoma Energy Ltd., an oil and gas explorer with shale prospects in Australia’s Queensland state, said partner China National Offshore Oil Corp. is interested in collaborating on future drilling operations.Exoma has bid for four blocks next to its ho

[Feb. 6, 2012] China has rejected Japanese protests over alleged improper exploration of gas deposits in the East China Sea.The Foreign Ministry said Friday the recent activity had taken place within Chinese-controlled waters and was completely normal. A ministry statem

[Feb. 3, 2012] Japan has accused China of unilaterally exploring gas deposits in the East China Sea, in violation of an agreement to jointly develop disputed areas.Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters Wednesday that Japan protested to China after a flar

[Feb. 1, 2012] PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Co. discovered an additional 500 million tons of proven, probable and possible (3P) oil and gas reserves in the Tarim Oilfield last year, Ren Nijun, a PetroChina Tarim spokesperson, told Interfax on Monday.

[Jan. 20, 2012] U.S. and Philippine marines plan to hold combat drills at an oil rig in the South China Sea to bolster the defense of such sensitive facilities in a bold move that may provoke protests from China, which claims waters in or near the location.Lt. Gen. Juanc

[Jan. 19, 2012] Sino Saudi Gas plans to drill again in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter in September but gas prices are still too low for companies exploring there, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco said. The joint venture between China’s Sinopec and state-run Aramco has b

[Jan. 18, 2012] Saudi Arabian Oil Co. plans to build refineries in China and Indonesia as part of a $200 billion spending program to double refining capacity and explore for oil and natural gas during the next decade.Saudi Aramco, as the state-run company is known, is pr

[Jan. 11, 2012] A delegation of African government officials, experts and entrepreneurs gathered in Shenzhen on Monday for a China-Africa poverty reduction and development seminar, organized by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, United Nations Development Program and China Center for Special Economic Zones Research of Shenzhen University. The seminar aims to share China’s experience in Special Economic Zones with the African partners, who are looking to establish similar zones to stimulate their economy.

[Jan. 10, 2012] The following table showes China’s oil and gas output by field in 2011, as reported by related companies or official media.

[Jan. 9, 2012] China’s Sinochem Group said that it would acquire 10 percent stakes in 5 deep water natural-gas and oil exploration blocks from Perenco SA, reported Bloomberg.China’s biggest supplier of chemical products added that the acquisition of the project stake in

[Jan. 6, 2012] A Chinese official said that China will soon send a huge ship, the Marine Oil and Gas 708, and a huge oil rig, the Marine 981, to explore for oil and gas in deep waters in 2012, in the South East Sea (or South China Sea as the Chinese call it). However, h

[Jan. 5, 2012] Sinochem Group, the country’s fourth biggest oil company, recently inked a deal to acquire a 10 percent stake in a deepwater exploration project off the shores of Brazil, an official from the company said.Sinochem said it hopes the deal will give it techn

[Jan. 2, 2012]  China will emerge as Alaska’s top export customer for 2011 when final trade statistics are counted for the last two months of the year, state officials say.As of Nov. 1, the value of Alaska exports to the Asian giant had reached $1.3 billion, a 52.5

[Dec. 30, 2011] Offshore rig can be divided into 8 categories, i.e., drill barge, drillship, inland barge, jack-up, platform rig, semisub, submersible and tender. As of Dec.15, 2011, there had been 48 drill barges, 73 drillships, 74 inland barges, 491 jack-ups, 250 platf

[Dec. 28, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) announced Tuesday that it has started large-scale exploration of the Lukqun Oil Field in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which has the world’s deepest heavy oil reserve.The company said its subsidiary,

[Dec. 28, 2011] China’s reliance on natural gas imports will continue, accounting for more than half of the country’s total consumption, as demand surges for the fuel for both industrial and residential use.China, which is widely estimated to realize more than 9 percent

[Dec. 28, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) announced Tuesday that it has started large-scale exploration of the Lukqun Oil Field in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which has the world’s deepest heavy oil reserve.The company said its subsidiary,

[Dec. 28, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) announced Tuesday that it has started large-scale exploration of the Lukqun Oil Field in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which has the world’s deepest heavy oil reserve.The company said its subsidiary,

[Dec. 28, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) announced Tuesday that it has started large-scale exploration of the Lukqun Oil Field in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which has the world’s deepest heavy oil reserve.The company said its subsidiary,

[Dec. 27, 2011] China has gained potential access to millions of barrels of oil after it won approval for oil exploration and extraction in Afghanistan. The country’s cabinet approved a deal to allow China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop oil blocks in the Amu Darya Basin.

[Dec. 27, 2011] AfghAfghanistan will sign a deal Wednesday allowing China’s state-owned National Petroleum Corporation to become the first foreign firm to produce oil in the country, the Ministry of Mines said. The deal will allow the Chinese firm to work oil blocks in the northeastern provinces of Sari Pul and Faryab. The area, known as the Amu Darya River Basin, is believed to have reserves of about 87 million barrels of oil.

[Dec. 27, 2011] China will soon put its first deepwater survey vessel into use in the South China Sea, an official with China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) said, part of an effort by the world’s top energy consumer to tap its underexplored deep waters. Ocean Oil 708, with a capacity to work in water depths of 3,000 metres and a drilling depth of 600 metres below the seabed, is one of the deepwater equipment that leading offshore oil and gas developer CNOOC planned to expand its deepwater capability. The vessel is owned by COSL, a specialised oil service unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).

[Dec. 27, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) announced Tuesday that it has started large-scale exploration of the Lukqun Oil Field in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which has the world’s deepest heavy oil reserve. The company said its subsidiary, Turpan-Hami Oil Field Co, opened 113 oil wells in Lukqun this year. Daily oil output in the field reached 1,100 tons in December.

[Dec. 27, 2011]  China will soon put its first deepwater survey vessel into use in the South China Sea, an official with China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) said, part of an effort by the world’s top energy consumer to tap its underexplored deep waters.Ocean Oil 708,

[Dec. 26, 2011] The Obama administration confirmed this week that a provision in the payroll tax bill requiring a quick decision on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast will probably lead to cancellation of the project.But does that

[Dec. 26, 2011]  China will soon put its first deepwater exploration vessel into use in the South China Sea, the China Petroleum Daily reported on Monday.The report did not specify which part of the South China Sea the vessel would be employed in."Ocean Oil 708

[Dec. 23, 2011] China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd.’s (CNOOC Ltd.) offshore exploration program in Cambodia is underway and moving towards the drilling phase, a spokesperson for the company told Interfax on Wednesday.

[Dec. 22, 2011] China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd.’s (CNOOC Ltd.) offshore exploration program in Cambodia is underway and moving towards the drilling phase, a spokesperson for the company told Interfax on Wednesday.

[Dec. 22, 2011] A countdown is expected to begin within days on a process that could result in Chinese PetroChina taking 100 per cent ownership of a joint venture oilsands project in northern Alberta.Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. reported Tuesday that it has received Alberta

[Dec. 22, 2011] China’s offshore oil and gas sector is expected to get the majority of the $1.5 trillion investment in the country’s energy plan (2011-2015). The nation also announced it anticipates domestic oil production will be increased to 500,000 barrels per d

[Dec. 21, 2011] China’s biggest oil producer China National Petrol Corp (CNPC) announced on Monday that its crude oil output will reach 107.53 million tons this year, an increase of 2.12 million tons from last year, Beijing Morning Post reported Tuesday. This is the second year that the oil producer reached its target of increasing its annual crude oil output by more than 2 million tons, the report said.

[Dec. 21, 2011] ConocoPhillips China said on Monday that its research and analysis so far show the oil spills in Bohai Bay have caused "minimal lasting impact to the environment". Not all agree with that assessment, however. The company said earlier that a third-party shoreline assessment showed that only two of 80 sample locations were similar to the oil from the Penglai 19-3 oilfield. And it has spent more than $200 million doing cleanup work after the oil spill.

[Dec. 21, 2011] CHINA’S second largest oil field, Shengli Oilfield, aims to boost its crude oil output to 27.5 million tons in 2012, up 160,000 tons from the target this year. As the flagship oil producing unit of China’s state-owned petroleum giant Sinopec, Shengli Oilfield has met the 2011 plan of 27.34 million tons of output, trailing only behind PetroChina’s Daqing Oilfield in output.

[Dec. 21, 2011] Shengli Oil Field, the largest oil field under Sinopec<600028><0386>, Asia’s largest oil refiner, aims to produce 27.5 million metric tons of crude oil in 2012, 160,000 metric tons more than this year’s target, sources reported. So far, Shengli Oil Field has achieved its crude output target of 27.34 million metric tons for 2011, thus maintaining its position as the country’s second-largest oil field after Daqing Oil Field operated by PetroChina<601857><0857>.

[Dec. 21, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country’s largest oil producer, is expected to see its 2011 crude oil output reach 107.53 million tons by the end of the year, according to a Dec. 20 company forecast.

[Dec. 13, 2011] Weir Group Plc, the world’s biggest maker of pumps for the mining industry, said China’s state-owned oil explorers are expected to be among the first users of locally made shale-gas equipment starting next year. Weir, which formed a venture with local partner Shengli Oilfield Highland Petroleum Equipment Co., will start testing manufacturing facilities at their plant in Dongying in Shandong province in the first quarter of next year, Chris Poole, divisional vice president of engineering at Weir Oil & Gas, said today in an interview in Beijing. Production will start after the tests are completed, he said.

[Dec. 13, 2011] Over 100 fishermen on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against U.S. energy giant ConocoPhilips’s China branch, as they believe the company is responsible for June’s massive oil spill in north China’s Bohai Bay, according to their lawyer. They filed the lawsuit in a maritime court in the northern port city of Tianjin, asking ConocoPhilips China to pay 490 million yuan(77.78 million U.S. dollars) to 107 fishermen from Hebei province.

[Dec. 13, 2011] CNPC Xinjiang Oilfield Co. Ltd., an oil exploration unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), has uncovered an oil deposit with geological crude reserves exceeding 50.57 million tons in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Kelamay

[Dec. 13, 2011] Chinese state-controlled Sinochem and UK-listed explorer Gulfsands Petroleum have shut down their oil operations in Syria following European Union sanctions related to the crackdown on the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, Gulfsands

[Dec. 12, 2011] Xinjiang Oilfield Company has ascertained 50 million tons of new oil reserve covering about 16.9 square kilometers in the eastern part of the Junggar Basin, which lies mostly within Xinjiang.It is the seventh oil reserve with more than 50 billion tons of

[Dec. 8, 2011] Chinese offshore oil and gas specialist CNOOC Ltd will drill its first deepsea exploration well in a northern area of the South China Sea in coming weeks, a company official told Reuters on Tuesday.Although missing an earlier schedule by nearly half a yea

[Dec. 5, 2011] The British firm Rockhopper Exploration was the first company to obtain oil off the coast of the Falkland Islands in 2010. Since then, these oil deposits have raised the stakes of the historical territorial dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina

[Dec. 5, 2011] CHINESE-BACKED oil and gas junior Exoma Energy is gearing up for an announcement today that it has made a 50 million barrel oil discovery at its onshore Katherine prospect near Longreach, despite a recent botched exploration well. The company, which has a

[Dec. 5, 2011] China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC) has established a joint venture with Canada-based Nexen Inc in the Gulf of Mexico, a move that follows the nation’s biggest offshore oil company’s completion of its purchase of oil sands producer Opti Canada Inc for $2.1 billion on Monday. Via the joint venture, CNOOC will gain a working interest in six deepwater exploration wells in the Gulf of Mexico. It will have a 20 percent working interest in Kakuna, Angel Fire and Cypress, and working interests of 10 to 25 percent in three other exploration wells, according to a statement from Nexen on Wednesday.

[Nov. 14, 2011] Due to the lag between price changes and investment in developing new oil and gas fields, global investment into exploration and development is expected to decrease in the short term. Thus demand for mining support services will be reduced globally during

[Nov. 11, 2011] To China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, another Saudi Arabia of oil may lie beneath the ocean to its south. Escalating regional tensions mean large-scale drilling may be slipping further into the future.The South China Sea area may hold 213 b

[Nov. 11, 2011] To China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, another Saudi Arabia of oil may lie beneath the ocean to its south. Escalating regional tensions mean large-scale drilling may be slipping further into the future.The South China Sea area may hold 213 b

[Nov. 3, 2011] In two previous articles, I detailed seven of 10 ethical challenges Canada faces given the way it is exploiting the oil sands. Find those here and here. I wrap up here with the final three.Ethical Challenge Eight: The Enbridge/Chinese GambleWith Chinese m

[Nov. 1, 2011] China on Monday warned foreign energy companies against exploration in the disputed South China Sea after U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp said it had discovered hydrocarbons in August off central Vietnam, in an area also claimed by China. The potentially significant gas discovery was made off the coast of Danang city, bringing a territorial row over the resource-rich South China Sea back into focus.

[Oct. 31, 2011] Shanghai. October 28. INTERFAX-CHINA - BGP Inc., a China National Petroleum Corp. subsidiary engaged in surveying, has launched its first 12-streamer seismic survey vessel after concluding sea trials along the east coast of South Korea, CNPC announced Oct

[Oct. 31, 2011] Indian and Chinese companies have emerged as the top choices in the bidding for iron ore and oil deposits in Afghanistan, according to the country’s Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani.“Two Indian bidders have emerged as the most potential c

[Oct. 31, 2011] China North East Petroleum Holdings Limited (the "Company") (NYSE Amex: NEP), a leading independent oil producing and oilfield services company in Northern China, today announced that it has completed the seismic testing of its Durimu oilfield.C

[Oct. 28, 2011]  Indian and Chinese bidders are front-runners for deals to mine Afghanistan’s vast iron ore and oil deposits, the country’s mining minister said on Wednesday, worrying Western firms who have hesitated to invest in the war-torn region.Afgh

[Oct. 27, 2011] The Philippines and Vietnam on Wednesday signed agreements to expand non-military cooperation of their maritime forces in the South China Sea, avoiding formal military pacts on the disputed waters that could provoke protests from China.The two governments

[Oct. 26, 2011] Chinese oil companies are interested in participating in future exploration and development of fossil fuels in Peru,  due to the country’s geological potential, according to a report from state-owned Perupetro.China National Petroleum (CNPC), C

[Oct. 24, 2011] According to Mr Jalil Jumriany policy director of the Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan that the ministry signed an agreement with PetroChina to allow it explore petroleum and build a refinery in Sari Pul Province of Afghanistan. This marks the first time

[Oct. 24, 2011] China-based oil firm PetroChina International (Bermuda) announced on Friday it had discovered new gas and condensate reserves in North Klalin, West Papua.In a press statement, the company said the recent test result of North Klalin-1 exploration well show

[Oct. 24, 2011] In a welcome show of assertiveness, India is standing up to Chinese pressure in Southeast Asia, as well as closer to home.A series of recent events underscore this message. During meetings with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang earlier this month, Indi

[Oct. 24, 2011] More than 200 U.S. and Filipino marines staged an amphibious assault on a beach in a combat drill Sunday near a South China Sea shoal disputed by China and the Philippines.U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Craig Timberlake said the exercise at a sprawling Philippine

[Oct. 12, 2011] A nationwide three-week program, starting on Saturday, will inspect and assess the safety of the country’s offshore petroleum drilling and exploration operations, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Land and Resources on Monday. The move comes after revelations that about 41 offshore oil spills occurred in China’s waters from 2006 to 2010.

[Sept. 30, 2011] Energy security is becoming a priority for economies around the world, not least the world’s biggest energy consumer, China. It will be responsible for most of the 36% increase in global energy demand by 2035, says the International Energy Agency. It’s therefore not surprising that the the Financial Times reported that Chinese oil and gas companies — PetroChina and its parent company China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China’s National Offshore Oil Co (CNOOC) and Sinopec — were responsible for 20% of global mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas sector last year.

[Sept. 30, 2011] As Americans quarrel over whether fossil fuels belong in their future, Asian countries are taking a powerful message to Washington Thursday: Ship your oil and gas to us. The case for the establishment of a transpacific energy market involving the United States and Canada as exporters, and Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea as importers, will be presented at the annual meeting of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council, a group of 23 Asia Pacific economies that work together on public policy issues.

[Sept. 29, 2011] Workers on Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s (CNQ-T30.79-0.98-3.08%) large Horizon project in Alberta’s oil sands knew something was wrong with the way a crew of Chinese workers flown in by a unit of China’s state-owned oil giant Sinopec was building a massive storage tank on the site back in 2007. Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said a union official with a crew of Canadian ironworkers working nearby on a different contract told him the tank worksite looked unlike any other he had seen. In the oil sands, clusters of giant vats known as tank farms have been a fixture of the industrial landscape for decades.

[Sept. 29, 2011] Terming Vietnam’s plans to explore oil with the help of India’s ONGC in the South China Sea as based on vague and unverifiable claims, an official Chinese newspaper Tuesday asked the Chinese government to present to the world clear proof that the area belonged to China. An article in Chinese People’s Daily on Tuesday questioned Vietnam’s plans to explore oil in two blocks in the South China Sea, saying they were based on obscure claims and cannot be verified on maps.

[Sept. 22, 2011] DELHI // Tensions are rising in the waters of the South China Sea where the competition for oil and regional dominance between India and China is entering a potentially dangerous phase.When India’s external affairs minister, SM Krishna, flew to Vietnam la

[Sept. 22, 2011] The United States is trailing China in the race for business in the new nation of South Sudan, despite leading the international effort to help South Sudan become an independent nation after decades of guerrilla war, says Princeton Lyman, the U.S. special

[Sept. 21, 2011] The Philippines is engaged in a muscle-flexing row with China over oil drilling in the South China Sea, writes Andy Higgins at the Washington Post. So are India and Vietnam, reports Ishaan Thardoor at Time, who wonders whether war is possible between Chin

[Sept. 21, 2011]  The United States is trailing China in the race for business in the new nation of South Sudan, despite leading the international effort to help South Sudan become an independent nation after decades of guerrilla war, says Princeton Lyman, the U.S. s

[Sept. 19, 2011] India’s move to expand its ties with Vietnam, and its influence in Asia, through an oil exploration project in the South China Sea has raised hackles in Beijing.According to the Times of India, an op-ed in China’s state-run Xinhua news agency warned India

[Sept. 16, 2011] WSP Holdings Limited /quotes/zigman/491152/quotes/nls/wh WH 0.00% ("WSP Holdings" or the "Company"), a leading Chinese manufacturer of API (American Petroleum Institute) and non-API seamless casing, tubing and drill pipes used in oil a

[Sept. 16, 2011] China warned India and other countries about oil exploration projects in the disputed South China Sea and its islands, claiming its "indisputable sovereignty" over the area.The South China Sea has proven oil reserves of around 7.7 billion barrel

[Sept. 15, 2011] The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has won a contract to drill for oil in three blocks of the Amu Darya basin in north-west Afghanistan, The Independent reports.The Kashkari, Bazarkhami and Zamarudsay blocks contain an estimated 80m barrels o

[Sept. 15, 2011] Beijing’s bid to thwart oil and natural gas exploration in two Vietnamese blocks in the South China Sea by India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has been rebuffed by New Delhi. India’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) said China’s object

[Sept. 14, 2011] It would seem the US is far from the only country to find China a tough competitor when it comes to their exports, and just as tough a customer when it comes to their imports.A Reuters series of articles explores Brazil’s trials with unfair steel ex

[Sept. 14, 2011] China will accelerate its pace of mapping the deep seabed, Zhang Jixian, president of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, told China Daily in an exclusive interview."In the near future, China’s surveying and mapping science will gradually e

[Sept. 14, 2011] Offshore exploration and production (E&P) safety inspections mandated by Chinese authorities are likely to reduce output for China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. (CNOOC Ltd.) by 10 percent this year, Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Ass

[Sept. 14, 2011] China will accelerate its pace of mapping the deep seabed, Zhang Jixian, president of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, told China Daily in an exclusive interview."In the near future, China’s surveying and mapping science will gradually e

[Sept. 13, 2011] China has ordered safety inspections for all offshore oil exploration and production projects after an oil spill at the Penglai 19-3 oil field in Bohai Bay, according to a statement posted Sunday on the central government’s website.China’s State Administr

[Sept. 13, 2011] Uganda’s nascent oil sector is abuzz with news of formalisation of a partnership between three oil companies next week, which executives say will "unlock production.The signing ceremony between Tullow Oil, French-based company Total and China’s Natio

[Sept. 13, 2011] China may need to step in to help keep region secure; US reduces its dependence on Saudi oil as Chinese demand soars.    The US and China are likely to find themselves competing for access to Middle East oil as China’s booming economy

[Sept. 13, 2011] China has ordered safety inspections for all offshore oil exploration and production projects after an oil spill at the Penglai 19-3 oil field in Bohai Bay, according to a statement posted Sunday on the central government’s website.

[Sept. 9, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp or CNPC, the parent firm of PetroChina Co Ltd<601857><0857>, has won a bid to develop an oilfield in northern Afghanistan, sources reported. CNPC, the nation’s biggest oil and natural gas company, beat rivals from Australia, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Pakistan.

[Sept. 9, 2011] Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao ordered a "thorough" investigation into the leaks at China’s biggest offshore oil field after ConocoPhillips apologised for the spills in the country’s northern Bohai Bay. Wen, at a State Council meeting on Wednesday, also called for immediate work safety checks on all offshore oil exploration and production, the government said.

[Sept. 9, 2011] The Chinese government is stepping up its pressure on the companies involved in an oil spill in the Bohai Bay, with calls for a thorough investigation into the incident and a limit on new construction in the bay. On Thursday, Chinese media prominently featured Premier Wen Jiabao’s calls for a probe into the oil spill in the Bohai Bay.

[Sept. 9, 2011] China has called for a thorough investigation into the spill at a Bohai Bay oilfield run by ConocoPhillips. "Parties responsible for the accident must be made to contain the spill, clean up the mess and substantially alleviate the damages caused by pollution," the State Council, or Cabinet, said in a statement Wednesday. "The cause of the accident must be identified, damage and losses must be defined, and those responsible must be punished according to the law."

[Sept. 8, 2011] Syria can sidestep European and US import bans by selling its oil to Russia or China, its finance minister said yesterday, while admitting that growth and exports have suffered during months of violent unrest. The European Union, which buys nearly all of Syria’s exported oil, has banned Syrian oil imports to pressure President Bashar al Assad to end his violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

[Sept. 8, 2011] CNPC, the parent of PetroChina (601857, 0857.HK), won a contract to explore for oil in Afghanistan’s Amu Darya region, beating off competition from Buccaneer Energy, Tethys Petroleum and Shazhad International, reports Wenweipo, citing HK media reports. In addition, CNPC announced plans to raise up to 55 billion yuan.

[Sept. 8, 2011] After a three-month long of oil spills in China’s Bohai Bay, Energy Giant ConocoPhillips has issued an apology to China and vowed to release funds to ameliorate the conditions of the affected environment, says a Reuters report. The apology came on Wednesday after China’s State Oceanic Administration released an order to ConocoPhillips China commanding to stop its operations on the 19-3 oilfield because the U.S. oil magnate failed to stop the leaks. An official of ConocoPhillips told reporters the subsidiary in China has halted all its operations on Tuesday.

[Sept. 8, 2011] Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, has called for a fresh probe into the offshore oil spill at Penglai 19-3, the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s displeasure over the incident that has forced ConocoPhillips to shut down its largest oilfield in China. The remarks from China’s cabinet underscore how the spill, though small in size, has caught the attention of top leaders at a time when environmental concerns are rising. For decades China’s economic boom has been accompanied by growing pollution, but this year officials have warned environmental degradation was a “bottleneck” for economic growth.

[Sept. 7, 2011] rally supported by short-covering, but turnover was thin. Market players remain sceptical about the sustainability of this rally after the Hang Seng Index halved gains from a bounce off lows on Aug 9 after meeting stiff resistance at around the 21,000 level.

[Sept. 7, 2011] Legal experts have suggested China’s maritime authorities file a criminal case against ConocoPhillips China, the operator of the two leaking platforms in Northeast China’s Bohai Bay. The United States energy company could face charges over severe environmental pollution, causing a major accident and illegal mining, Jia Fangyi, an attorney at the Beijing-based Great Wall Law Firm, said on Tuesday.

[Sept. 7, 2011] The Afghan government has chosen China’s National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) as a preferred bidder for an oil field in northern Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday, and hopes to come to a final deal by the middle of October. The contract will be the first international oil production deal signed by the Afghan government for several decades. Last year the ministry made a short-lived deal with a local company to pump crude in northern Sar-e Pul province.

[Sept. 7, 2011] China has put the brakes on oil and gas investments in Iran, drawing ire from Tehran over a pullback that officials and executives said reflected Beijing’s efforts to appease Washington and avoid U.S. sanctions on its big energy firms. The stakes are high for OPEC’s second-largest producer, as China is one of the only powers on the international political stage capable of providing the billions of dollars of investment Tehran needs to maintain the capacity of its strategic oil sector.

[Sept. 6, 2011] Shares of CNOOC Ltd, China’s largest offshore energy explorer, had their biggest decline in a month in Hong Kong trading after oil leaks at a field operated by partner ConocoPhillips Co forced the company to cut its output estimate. The stock fell 8.9 percent to HK$13.84 ($1.78) on Monday. CNOOC has dropped 24 percent this year, outpacing the 14 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

[Sept. 6, 2011] A subsidiary of ConocoPhillips has been ordered by China’s State Oceanic Administration to halt injection, drilling and production of oil and gas at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in northern China’s Bohai Bay, sources reported. The SOA said in a statement on its website that ConocoPhillips has failed to seal a leak at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, the largest offshore oilfield in China. The leak has lasted more than two months.

[Sept. 6, 2011] Following the full suspension of drilling operations on Sunday at its Penglai 19-3 oilfield, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said it will lose 62,000 barrels a day of oil production. CNOOC released the comment on Sunday after the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Friday ordered all production halted at the oilfield in Bohai Bay, which is operated by ConocoPhillips, which holds a 49-percent stake. The remainder is held by CNOOC.

[Sept. 6, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the nation’s biggest oil and natural gas company, won a bid to develop an oilfield in northern Afghanistan, beating rivals from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Pakistan. President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet late last month approved the Mines Ministry’s decision to allow State-owned CNPC to drill for oil in three blocks of the Amu Darya basin, a geological zone that extends into Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Jawad Omar, a ministry spokesman, said by telephone on Monday.

[Sept. 6, 2011] CNOOC shares slumped as much as 11 percent on Monday, their biggest single-day drop in three years, after a regulator ordered the suspension of operations at a major oilfield because of oil leaks. China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA) ordered the PL19-3 oilfield in the northern Bohai Bay, co-owned and operated by ConocoPhillips , to suspend all operations because the American firm had failed to seal a leak that had lasted for more than two months, CNOOC said.

[Sept. 6, 2011] China has a chance of challenging the United States for shale supremacy. So far, only the United States has significantly exploited domestic reserves of shale gas. But China’s state oil major Sinopec is now taking shale seriously, and lacks many of the roadblocks that have held developers in other countries back.

[Sept. 6, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp., the nation’s biggest oil and gas company, won a bid to develop an oilfield auctioned in northern Afghanistan, beating rivals from Australia, U.K., the U.S. and Pakistan. President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet late last month approved the Mines Ministry’s decision to allow state-owned CNPC to drill for oil in three blocks of the Amu Darya basin, a geological zone that extends into Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Jawad Omar, a ministry spokesman, said by telephone today.

[Sept. 6, 2011] ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is facing a lot of technical and political challenges in China due to the oil spills from the company’s offshore wells. Crude along with drilling mud is seeping from the seabed at the offshore wells in China’s Bohai Bay. The political and technical implications due to this spillage appear to be far greater than the real problem itself. ConocoPhilips said on Monday that the company has suspended all its drilling operations, water injection and production at one of the China’s biggest Penglai 19-3 oil field. According to the statement released by the Houston, Texas based ConocoPhilips, operations have been stopped in a total of 231 wells which include 180 producing wells and 51 injecting wells. These fields are operated in a joint venture with the state owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. which ones 51 percent of the venture.

[Sept. 5, 2011] Chinese regulators have ordered a shutdown at a troubled offshore oilfield operated by ConocoPhillips, a surprise escalation in a months-long oil spill off the coast of China that has released around 700 barrels of oil into the sea. The spill at the Penglai 19-3 field, which is jointly owned by ConocoPhillips and Chinese offshore producer Cnooc , is the biggest leak from an offshore rig ever reported in China and occurs at one of the country’s most established oilfields. The industry is scrutinising Beijing’s reaction as a litmus test for how stricter environmental regulation will impact China’s extraction industries such as mining and oil and gas.

[Sept. 5, 2011] As the oil companies try to stop the Bohai leaks and the long legal process to proper compensation starts, that sea of controversy is still storm-tossed. The China Daily Sunday team of Han Bingbin, Zhao Ruixue, Zhang Xiaomin and Eric Jou spreads out along the coastal communities of Bohai to see how they are coping.On the surface, Bohai caresses a shoreline that links some of China’s most prosperous cities and municipalities. Its waters lap against the peninsula of Shandong and its jewel on the water, Qingdao, and across the water, another gem gleams in Dalian, Liaoning’s pride and joy. In between the two are Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality. The stellar neighborhood makes Bohai one of the busiest waterways in the country, if not the world.

[Sept. 5, 2011] China’s top offshore oil and gas producer, CNOOC Ltd , said its net production would be reduced by about 40,000 barrels per day due to the government-ordered suspension of operations at the entire PL19-3 oil field. In a filing with the Hong Kong exchange late on Sunday, CNOOC said its net production had been reduced by about 22,000 barrels per day since the suspension of operations of Platforms B and C of PL19-3 oil field on July 13. A suspension of the entire oil field will further reduce output, it said.

[Sept. 5, 2011] According to Iranian news media, PetroChina will invest USD 8.4 billion to develop the Azadegan oilfield. The site is 80 kilometers west of Ahvaz close to the border with Iraq. Iran Oil Engineering general manager Alireza Zeiqami says PetroChina will begin first phase development of the Azadegan oilfield this year. Its 2011 target is to drill 185 wells.

[Sept. 5, 2011] China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is to establish a compensation fund to pay for the damage caused by the huge oil spill in China’s northeast Bohai Bay. "We are discussing a compensation fund plan for the marine environment impact and will release details in a timely manner," Yang Hua, general manager of CNOOC said in a statement released on Saturday.

[Sept. 2, 2011] In an effort to support oil and gas drilling, the Chinese government has issued tax exemption incentives for drilling programs in China, according to a statement released Thursday on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The statement said that from Jan 1, 2011 to Dec 31, 2015, oil and gas drilling projects on specially appointed land and sea areas will be exempt from import taxes on equipment, instruments, accessories and special purpose tools that domestic companies are unable to manufacture and are directly used in exploration and exploitation.

[Sept. 2, 2011] Petrochemical projects near North China’s Bohai Bay have been a boon to the local economy but pose a threat to the region’s environment, experts warn. Many large refinery and petrochemical projects have been established on land near the bay, putting serious pressure on its environment. Pollution from those operations threatens to turn the waters there into a "dead sea", especially since it is difficult to purify an inland sea, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

[Sept. 1, 2011] Two oil spills on June 4 and on June 17 in the Penglai oilfield operated by ConocoPhillips China leaked approximately 1,500 barrels into the adjacent waters. But the Penglai oil spill has in fact grown worse over the last two months, with new reports of more oil leaks. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announced on Aug 16 that it will publicly recruit law firms to build a case against the company. According to current administrative provisions, a 200,000 yuan ($31,340) fine will probably be the maximum penalty for ConocoPhillips but further legal consequences are clearly needed.

[Sept. 1, 2011] ConocoPhillips China (COPC) said on Wednesday that it had sealed off leaks from an oil spill that polluted north China’s Bohai Bay before the August 31 deadline. However, the claim has not been verified by China’s maritime authority. COPC, a subsidiary of US oil giant ConocoPhillips, said it had submitted a report to China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA), showing that the company has met the SOA’s requirements to seal off the sources of the spill and eliminate the risk for further leaks.

[Aug. 31, 2011] An oil spill might seem like an unlikely place to look for lessons about doing business in China. But in the choppy waters of the Bohai Bay, US oil giant ConocoPhillips is learning the hard way that not all oil spills – or oil companies – were created equal. The saga of the Bohai oil spill goes back to June 4, when oil was spotted seeping out of a fault on the ocean floor near a drilling platform in the Penglai 19-3 field, which is operated by ConocoPhillips, but jointly owned by Conoco (49 per cent) and Cnooc (51 per cent).

[Aug. 31, 2011] US oil company ConocoPhillips said on Monday it had cleaned up 99 percent of the mineral oil-based drilling mud near Platform C at Penglai 19-3 oil field, as a deadline ordered by China’s oceanic authorities is approaching. By Aug 29, 399 cubic meters of mineral oil-based drilling mud, accounting for 99 percent of the volume that had been identified on the seabed around Platform C, had been cleaned up, according to a statement on the company’s website.

[Aug. 31, 2011] China’s maritime authorities have set up a working group to assist with compensation claims for the oil leaking in North China’s Bohai bay as the time set for the US company ConocoPhillips to clean up the spill hits deadline day, the Beijing Times reported. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said the leak at Penglai 19-3 oil field, the largest offshore oilfield in China, has caused severe pollution.

[Aug. 31, 2011] Signing of a joint oil exploration agreement between the Philippine government and state-owned China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) will not push through. According to Trade Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio, Sinopec was not able to secure the permit from the Chinese government to push through with the agreement for a joint exploration project in the West Philippine Sea.

[Aug. 29, 2011] Chinese maritime authority is reportedly ready to sue ConocoPhillips over the two oil spills that happened in June, and engulfed large swaths of Bohai Bay in north China. Wednesday’s report also said that the American oil company could soon face compensation sue by a new team of lawyers been setup by the State Oceanic Administration. The report further highlighted that an agency spokesman has confirmed 49 Chinese law firms for applying legal assistance in the matter.

[Aug. 29, 2011] More oil has been detected near the two leaking oil platforms in Northeast China’s Bohai Bay, authorities said. A statement released by the North China Sea branch of the State Oceanic Administration on Thursday said 16 oil leaks have been detected under platform C and oil and gas are still bubbling in the water in the area of the platform.

[Aug. 29, 2011] A JOINT Philippine-Chinese plan to explore for oil in disputed territory will serve the country’s interests, a Palace official said on Saturday. Although talks for joint exploration are still in the nascent stage, the Philippine government will consider the parity of parties and ensure that it will serve the national interest, Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said over government-run dzRB radio.

[Aug. 29, 2011] Solid first-half profits at China’s state-owned oil companies have paved the way for further expansion overseas as the country’s oil needs continue to rise. Sinopec, the world’s second-largest oil refiner, said on Sunday it intended to raise up to Rmb50 billion ($7.8 billion) through the sale of bonds and convertible bonds to fund projects, boost working capital and pay debts. The instruments will be issued or placed with existing shareholders, Sinopec said.

[Aug. 25, 2011] TaiwTaiwan once worried about the possible threat to national security in cooperating with China to explore oil reserves in the Taiwan Strait, according to cables released by Wikileaks. The whistleblowing website also revealed that even though Taiwan-China oil drilling cooperation has proceeded generally smoothly, Taiwanese technicians’ visa applications were rejected due to China’s pressure when they tried to negotiate oil exploration deals with Angola.

[Aug. 25, 2011] China’s largest offshore oil producer, China National Offshore Oil Corp., said Wednesday it has revised downward the production target for the year due partly to the unresolved oil spill off China’s northeastern coast. The massive spill drew legal action and public outrage against CNOOC and its production-sharing contract partner, U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips, the company responsible for causing and allegedly covering up the spill.

[Aug. 24, 2011] Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said Tuesday it will embark on a 15 billion ringgit (S$6 billion) project to develop natural gas fields in the South China Sea off the country’s eastern coast.With the involvement of other "partners", the &qu

[Aug. 23, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country’s largest oil and gas producer, terminated six exploration projects in Libya and Niger amid ongoing political turbulence in the Middle East and North Africa, the Securities Daily said Monday.The terminati

[Aug. 22, 2011] US oil giant ConocoPhillips, already facing legal action and mounting public anger over a huge oil spill off China’s northeast coast, has found nine new leaks in the same area, authorities said. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said yesterday ConocoPhillips had reported the leakages near a platform in Bohai Bay jointly owned by the American company and China’s CNOOC. Further details were not provided.

[Aug. 17, 2011] Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co has signed a Saudi riyal (SR) 488m ($130.1m, €90.0m) contract with China’s Sinopec Engineering Inc for the construction of a distilled natural alcohols plant at Al-Jubail in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Kayan said on Tuesday.The p

[Aug. 17, 2011] Oil exploration and future production contracts in the west Philippine sea, the maritime area Manila claims in the contested South China Sea, will be a hot issue when President Benigno Aquino makes his first official visit to meet Chinese President Hu Jin

[Aug. 16, 2011] The total installed capacity of China’s gas-fired power plants is expected to more than double from the present 28 gigawatts (GW) to 60 GW by 2015, state media reported Aug. 15.

[Aug. 16, 2011] CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) apologized for new oil spill in Bohai Bay on Saturday, saying the company would closely watch developments and make any information public. Conocophillips China, a subsidiary of the Houston-based oil company ConocoPhillips, admitted a new oil spill had been found at the company’s platforms in Bohai Bay, China’s maritime authorities said Friday.

[Aug. 16, 2011] Sudan has granted a petroleum exploration licence to China, Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti said after his visiting Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and President Omar al-Bashir held talks in Khartoum. "President Bashir has granted the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) three promising new petroleum blocs and offered a partnership with the national petroleum company Sudapet in the fields where it operates," Karti said late Monday.

[Aug. 11, 2011] The government of Sudan has granted its main ally and oil buyer China more oil exploration rights as both countries seek to boost their ties.On Monday, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi visited the Sudanese capital in the first high-level visit of a Ch

[Aug. 10, 2011] Shares of PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) are trading down 0.2% to $123.78 today on above average volume. Approximately 563,000 shares have traded hands today vs. average 30-day volume of 255,000 shares. Spikes in volume can validate a breakout or signify a potential turning point. As such, SmarTrend will continue to monitor shares of PTR to see if this bearish momentum will continue.

[Aug. 10, 2011] Sudan has granted its main ally and oil buyer China more oil exploration rights as both countries seek to boost ties, Sudan’s foreign minister said. On Monday, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi visited Khartoum in the first high-level visit of a Chinese official since South Sudan became independent last month during which he assured continued support.

[Aug. 10, 2011] Foreign Ministry, Ali Karti affirmed, after the talks held between the President and the Chinese Foreign Minister, the entrance of eight Chinese agricultural companies to work in agriculture development in Sudan.“President Al Bashir directed grantin

[Aug. 8, 2011] Three Chinese oil companies denied recent media reports that they had bid for oil exploration contracts in the South China Sea from the Philippine government, People’s Daily reported.

[Aug. 8, 2011] The Chinese government will not lower the prices of oil products for the time being as conditions for a price cut have not been met, the nation’s economic planning agency told Xinhua Monday. The remarks were made by the head of the pricing department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in response to public opinion that China’s present domestic prices have failed to reflect the falling international crude oil prices.

[Aug. 5, 2011] THREE Chinese firms, including the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Co., have expressed interest in bidding for exploration contracts within the Spratly Islands, Energy Undersecretary Jay Layug said Wednesday.The Chinese firms were looking at 15 ar

[Aug. 4, 2011] Three Chinese firms, including state-owned China National Offshore Oil Co., have shown interest in bidding for oil exploration contracts on the Reed Bank near the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Philippine Energy Secretary Rene Almendras

[Aug. 2, 2011] China’s maritime authorities criticized ConocoPhilips China (COPC) on Monday for missing a deadline for cleaning up two oil spills in northeast China’s Bohai Bay. In a notice issued on Sunday, the North China Sea branch of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) ordered COPC to move more quickly to clean up the spills, as oil is continuing to leak from two of the company’s platforms.

[Jul. 29, 2011] Financially troubled oil sands company OPTI Canada (OPC-T0.12----%), which is expected to be acquired by a Chinese energy company, narrowed its second-quarter loss to $55-million.That compares with a loss of $144-million in the same quarter a year ago, th

[Jul. 29, 2011] China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the parent of PetroChina (601857, 0857.HK), recorded a year-on-year increase of 30,000 tons per day in its overseas oil production in the first half of 2011, reports energy website in-en.com, citing CNPC. According to the report, newly-discovered recoverable oil reserves in the first six months accounted for 53.8 percent of the target for full year 2011, while that of natural gas accounted for 57.6 percent of the year’s target.

[Jul. 28, 2011] Locals along the Bohai Bay have been preparing to sue US oil giant ConocoPhillips China and the state agency, its development partner, for the ’unending spread of fuel’ from Penglai oil field over 50 days after the first spill was detected. They claim par

[Jul. 28, 2011] Chinese imports of Iranian oil jumped 53 percent in June over the previous month, according to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.China’s oil imports from Iran increased by around 50 percent in the first half of

[Jul. 28, 2011] Chinese government has approved state-run Sinopec Group’s plan to build a 400,000 barrel-per-day Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia, three months after Sinopec and state-run Saudi Aramco struck an initial pact to build the $10 billion plant in the world’s top

[Jul. 28, 2011] Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has refuted reports that a consortium comprising Sinopec Petroleum Services Corp (Sinopec), Sabio Oil and Gas Sdn Bhd (SOG) and International Oil Design and Construction Sdn Bhd (IODC) was given the approval to develop a

[Jul. 28, 2011] China’s Yan Chang Logone Development Holding Company has successfully drilled an oil well in the Zina-Makary block in the Logone Birni basin of the Far North region of Cameroon, the state oil company said late on Tuesday. Yan Chang Logone Development sign

[Jul. 28, 2011]   China’s top offshore oil producer, CNOOC Ltd has restarted production of its southern Bohai Bay oilfields after a malfunction in Apr halted operations, Reuters reported.The operation in its BoZhong 28-2 South oilfields were running smoothly and pro

[Jul. 27, 2011] China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) plans to put its fifth natural gas processing plant into operation at the Sulige Gasfield in northwestern China’s Ordos Basin, the company announced July 26.

[Jul. 27, 2011] Malaysia’s state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. said that a group including Sinopec Petroleum Services Corp. didn’t participate in any review for the development of marginal fields in the country. State-owned China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, Sabio Oil & Gas Sdn. and International Oil Design & Construction Sdn. said on July 25 that they plan to develop a field off the coast of Terengganu in Malaysia, without identifying the area. Sabio’s executive chairman, Ahmad Sukimi Ibrahim, wasn’t available in his office to comment on Petronas’s statement, according to his secretary.

[Jul. 27, 2011] The Ahdab oil field is now producing 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) - and could reach 200,000 bpd by the beginning of 2013 - having overcome controversy since a Chinese state oil firm inked the deal in 2008.

[Jul. 27, 2011] Iran’s oil trade with China, its biggest crude buyer, has not suffered the problems hampering its exports to India, Beijing-based oil industry officials said on Monday.