Petrobras and CNOOC may explore in South China Sea and Brazil

CNOOC Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer, and Petroleo Brasileiro, Brazil's state oil company, plan to soon start formal talks about exploring for oil in the South China Sea and off the coast of Brazil. The two companies have begun initial negotiations and CNOOC plans to send a team to Brazil to discuss with Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, investments in deepwater projects, CNOOC Chairman Fu Chengyu said on July 8.
"We're looking at deepwater areas in the South China Sea and we may consider it in Brazil too," Fu said.

A venture with Petrobras may help CNOOC increase production after China's oil-import bill soared 55 % last year as demand outpaced the ability of the nation's oil companies to find reserves to replace aging fields.
Chinese demand is expected to rise 13.6 % this year to 6.24 mm bpd, the International Energy Agency said in May. Hong Kong-listed CNOOC's crude oil and natural gas production in China rose 7.2 % in the first quarter from a year earlier, the company said in April.

CNOOC produced crude oil and gas equivalent to 314,382 bpd off the coast of China in the first three months of this year, up from 293,206 barrels a year earlier.
Its total production of oil and natural gas, including output from overseas fields, rose 3.2 % to 362,672 bpd in the first quarter.