China Sea

CNOOC Pairs with Husky to Explore Deep Water Oil

CNOOC Ltd.’s unlisted parent company plans to start deep water oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea with Canada's Husky Energy Inc. next year, according to AP report. If the scheduled exploration finds sizable reserves in a bloc in the South China Sea about 185 miles south of Hong Kong, it will be China's first deep water oil and gas field. CNOOC's parent company is currently restricted to pumping oil and gas offshore at no deeper than 350 m, because of the technology currently available to it. According to the report, CNOOC previously signed a production sharing contract with Husky, an integrated oil and gas producer, to jointly explore and develop two deep water blocs in the South China Sea. The two companies explored the other bloc in the western part of the South China Sea in 2004, but the reserves discovered were too small to justify commercial drilling. Source: AP

CNOOC, Newfield Sign PSC contracts

China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd) announced that its parent China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has signed two production sharing contracts (PSC) with US-based Newfield Exploration Company. The two contracts are for blocks numbered 22/15 and 16/05, both in the South China Sea. Block 22/15 in the Beibu Gulf Basin in the western South China Sea covers 5,228 square km, with water depth of 10 to 60 meters.

IMO: Piracy Up 4%

The IMO issued a Maritime Safety Committee circular providing the annual report for 2002 of reports on acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships. The number of such acts reported to the IMO during 2002 was 383, an increase of 4% over the figure for 2001. The most affected area was the Far East, with 140 incidents reported in the South China Sea alone. MSC.4/Circ.32 http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id=7215/32-b&w

This Day in Naval History – April 7

1776 - Continental brig Lexington captures British Edward 1917 - Navy takes control of all wireless radio stations in the U.S. 1942 - Navy accepts African Americans for general service 1945 - First two Navy flight nurses land on an active battlefield (Iwo Jima): ENS Jane Kendeigh, USNR, and LTJG Ann Purvis, USN 1945 - Carrier aircraft defeat last Japanese Navy sortie (Battle of East China Sea); Yamato, world's largest battleship, and five other ships sunk

Pirates Move to South China Sea

According to a report from World Tribune, Western navies and the weather are putting pirates out of commission in the Gulf of Aden. NATO and other countries are maintaining task forces in the Gulf of Aden to block piracy, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The bureau said pirates have chosen, instead, to attack ships in the South China Sea, where incidents tripled (to 30) this year. (Source: World Tribune)

CNOOC and Eni Collaborate in South China Sea

Hong Kong - CNOOC Limited announced that its parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), has signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) with Eni China B.V. (Eni) for the deepwater Block 30/27 in South China Sea. Block 30/27, located 400 kilometers off the coast of Hong Kong with a total area of 5,130 square kilometers, is one of the blocks CNOOC offered for foreign cooperation in 2011. According to the terms of the contract

CNOOC Signed First Deepwater Exploration Agreement

China National Offshore Oil Corporation ("CNOOC") inked a petroleum contract with Husky Oil China Limited for deepwater block 40/30 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin of the South China Sea. This is the first deepwater exploration contract signed between CNOOC and foreign petroleum companies since it announced the tendering of deepwater areas in September. A number of foreign companies are still studying the geological data of the 12 deepwater blocks in the South China Sea offered by CNOOC in

Husky Begins Oil Production and Expands Activities

Husky Energy Inc. announced that it has signed petroleum contracts for two additional exploration leases in the South China Sea. Both are located in the Beibu Gulf, north of Hainan Island and within 80 kilometres of the Weizhou oil fields. The agreement includes exploration lease 23/15, which is 1,327 sq. kilometres, and exploration lease 23/20, which is 1,543-sq. kilometres. A single exploration well is required in each contract area in the first three years of the contract.

67 Ships Join Search in China

67 ships and 2,377 people are searching for the 31 Chinese sailors who went missing after a Panamanian freighter ran aground in the sea area off East China's Fujian Province last week. The rescue operation has been extended to a wider area of sea, including areas near local islands and polders. The accident occurred when the ship, Heng Da 1, hit a reef. All 37 Chinese crew members fell overboard. So far only two of the crew members have been saved and the bodies of four victims recovered

Evergreen Adjusts Intra-Asia Schedules

In view of the development of intra-Asia waterborne trade, Evergreen Line will realign its fleet deployment and launch new services, effective November 2011.      Two new service loops will replace the existing Japan- Taiwan - South China Sea (JTS) service. The new South China Sea - Hong Kong (SCH) loop will serve the southern leg of JTS service while the northern leg will be covered by the carrier's existing service network