LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - China National Offshore Oil Corp(CNOOC) signed its 200th production-sharing contract with aforeign partner on Tuesday, teaming up with BP to drillin the South China Sea.
The landmark demonstrates China's drive to develop its ownoil and gas resources at the same time as it buys intodevelopments around the world.
It also shows the enthusiasm of top international oilcompanies like BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil todeepen ties with the world's fastest-growing oil market andconsumer of over 10 percent of world supplies.
The deal relates to block 54/11 in the deepwater Pearl RiverMouth Basin, which covers 4,586 square kilometres in waterdepths from 370 to 2,300 metres, and is close to BP's existingdeepwater interests in Blocks 43/11 and 42/05.
CNOOC will be the operator and will own the rights to 51percent of any commercial discoveries, but BP will carry thecost of exploration. Financial terms were not disclosed instatements from BP and CNOOC's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary CNOOCLtd.
"This is a good addition of acreage to our deepwaterportfolio in the South China Sea and deepens our closerelationship with CNOOC. We look forward to some early results,"said Mike Daly, BP's executive vice president for exploration.