Offshore staff
(Asia) - CNOOC Ltd.'s parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corp., has entered into a production sharing contract (PSC) for offshore block 03/27 and a geophysical agreement for block 28/20 with Texas American Resources Co. (TARC).
Block 03/27, located in Pearl River Mouth Basin in the eastern South China Sea, covers a total area of 10,569 sq km with water depth ranging from 50 to 100 m.
Under the terms of the contract, TARC is committed to drill wildcats during the exploration period. TARC will fund 100% of the exploration expenditure, and CNOOC has the right to back-in with up to a 51% working interest at no cost in any commercial discoveries in the block.
Block 28/20, with an area of 7,625 sq km, is located in the same basin. According to the geophysical agreement, TARC will acquire 3D seismic data within the block and has the option to sign a PSC with CNOOC for the block at the expiration of the agreement.
This marks the first step in cooperation between TARC and CNOOC. Zhu Weilin, vice president of CNOOC and general manager of the exploration department comments, "The signing of the agreements is a good start. And it is also a symbol of TARC's confidence in the potential of Pearl River Mouth Basin. We sincerely hope TARC, with its expertise and management skills, will be successful to brighten the prospect of the basin."
TARC, formed in 1990, is an Austin-based independent private oil company
in the US. Its oil and gas E&P is mainly located at the Rocky Mountain area and Texas.
10/19/05
