China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC, has issued a tender inviting foreign firms to jointly explore and produce oil and gas in the South China Sea and the Bohai Bay area, according to a statement posted on the company's website on Wednesday.
CNOOC, parent of CNOOC Ltd, said it will offer eight exploration blocks totaling 9,761 square kilometers for foreign participation this year in the South China Sea. They include five blocks in the Pearl River Mouth basin, Qiongdongnan and Yinggehai basin.
CNOOC will also open another six blocks in the South China Sea and the Bohai Bay region for joint development, the firm said, without giving further details.
Last December CNOOC signed deals with nine firms including Chevron and ConocoPhillips signalling renewed efforts to boost domestic drilling.
(Reporting by Meng Meng and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)