By Wayne Ma
BEIJING--China's National Development and Reform Commission has
given the go-ahead to Cnooc Ltd. (CEO), the country's primary
offshore oil producer, and its Australian partners to begin
commercial production at two offshore oil fields in the Beibu
Gulf.
The NDRC, China's top economic planning body, said it approved
Cnooc's overall development plan for the two fields in October,
according to a statement posted Thursday on the commission's
website.
The Beibu Gulf is located about 60 kilometers from the southern
coast of China.
Cnooc, which holds a 51% stake in the project, is the sole
operator of the two fields, known as Weizhou 12-8 and Weizhou 6-12.
Australia's Roc Oil (ROC.AU), which initially led exploration of
the fields, is the second largest stakeholder, with a 19.6%
interest.
Roc Oil discovered crude oil at Weizhou 12-8 in 2004 and at
Weizhou 6-12 in 2006, according to the company's website.
In the second quarter of 2010, Cnooc exercised its right to take
a majority stake in the project, which reduced Roc's share to 19.6%
from 40%, Roc said. Three other Australian companies--Horizon Oil
Ltd. (HZN.AU), Petsec Petroleum Inc. (PSA.AU) and Oil Australia
Ltd.--own the remaining stake.
The two offshore fields combined have an estimated 24 million
barrels of proven plus probable reserves of crude, Roc has
said.
Write to Wayne Ma at wayne.ma@dowjones.com