CNOOC

CNOOC Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through three segments: E&P, Trading Business, and Corporate. The company produces offshore crude oil and natural gas primarily in Bohai, the Western South China Sea, the Eastern South China Sea, and the East China Sea in offshore China. It also holds interests in various oil and gas assets in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Europe. As of December 31, 2021, it had net proved reserves of approximately 5.73 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In addition, the company is involved in the bond issuance; sale and marketing of petroleum and natural gas; and surface exploration and sale of coalbed methane. CNOOC Limited operates in China, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Argentina, Indonesia, Uganda, Iraq, Brazil, Guyana, Russia, Australia, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. CNOOC Limited is a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

When the State Council implemented the regulation of the people's petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises on January 30, 1982, CNOOC was incorporated and authorized to assume overall responsibility for the exploitation of oil and gas resources of offshore China in cooperation with foreign partners, which ensured monopoly status for CNOOC in offshore oil and natural gas. With its headquarters in Beijing, CNOOC registered with capital of RMB 94.9 billion and has more than 98,750 employees.

Unocal buyout attempt

In June 2005, a CNOOC Group company made an $18.5 billion cash offer for American oil company Unocal Corporation, topping an earlier bid by ChevronTexaco. Unocal's oil interests in Central Asia were considered a strategic fit for the company. On July 20, 2005, Unocal announced that it had accepted an buyout offer from ChevronTexaco for $17.1 billion, which was submitted to Unocal stockholders on August 10. On August 2 CNOOC Limited announced that it had withdrawn its bid, citing political tensions in the United States.Despite a hands-off approach from the Bush administration, a group of Democrats and Republicans in Congress organized opposition to the CNOOC Limited bid. They argued that with $13 billion of CNOOC Limited's bid for Unocal coming from the Chinese government, the offer was not a free market transaction. American corporations were prohibited from purchasing assets in China, and it was also argued that foreign, communist ownership of oil assets might be a regional and economic-security risk; Unocal had sensitive deep-sea exploration and drilling technology. The Economist and other sources tried to discredit the security threat, and CNOOC was willing to undergo a US security review. Congressional delays and calls for inquiry deterred the CNOOC Limited bid.The company was advised by Goldman Sachs. CNOOC Limited had a reputation for acting independently of the Chinese government, and had not notified government officials before bidding for UNOCAL. The political backlash in the United States caused the Chinese government to increase its oversight of Chinese companies, to avoid future risks to Sino-American relations.CNOOC Limited faces challenges in the domestic market. Its rivals, CNPC and Sinopec, have been permitted to conduct offshore exploration once monopolized by CNOOC Limited. In accordance with the commitment by the Chinese government to join the World Trade Organization, the oil market will be opened to non-Chinese companies by the end of 2006. CNOOC Limited's smaller domestic competitors have been trying to break the monopoly of the three major NOCs in the industry.

Nexen acquisition

Adding 61 percent to Nexen's July 20, 2012 stock price, on July 23 CNOOC agreed to buy Nexen for $15.1 billion . The Canadian government's Investment Canada Act was used to determine if the sale was a "net benefit" to Canada. In addition to Canadian authorities, the acquisition had to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. On 7 December the sale was approved by the Canadian government, and on February 12, 2013 it was approved by U.S. regulators.

2014 onwards

In June 2014, CNOOC agreed a deal with BP worth around $20 billion that would see the latter supplying the former with liquefied natural gas.On June 5, 2018, CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation , China's largest LNG importer and terminal operator, has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Philippine fuel retailer Phoenix Petroleum to study, plan, and develop a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal project in the Philippines.In September 2018, it also signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the production of biofuel.In 2019, CNOOC was awarded the Theoretical Technology and Major Discoveries of Deep Large-scale Condensate Gas Field Exploration in the Bohai Bay Basin by the National Award for Science and Technology Progress, a state-level science and technology award established by the Chinese State Council.

CNOOC Limited has made great strides since its establishment. In the years to come we will continue to grow and responsibly supply energy to the world, while meeting shareholders expectations, making our employees proud of our achievements and gaining respect from our peers. To achieve this, we aspire to aim high, have our feet firmly on the ground, and diligently execute our yearly plan and implement the following key strategies:

We will continue to promote innovation-driven development. As we enter a new era, we will strive to achieve quality growth through innovation and efficiency enhancement. We will focus on making breakthroughs in the key technologies for oil and gas exploration. We will put more efforts in achieving innovation in management and business model, promoting quality and efficiency, and continuing to deepen internal reforms and inspiring vitality and growth potential.