SK signs two PSCs with CNOOC

China

BEIJING, February 11, 2015 – South Korea’s SK Innovation signed two production-sharing contracts with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the Chinese company announced Tuesday. Both blocks are located in the Pearl River Mouth Basin of the South China Sea at depths of 50-100 metres.

The 5,138-square-kilometre Block 04/20 and 7,686-square-kilometre Block 17/03 were part of CNOOC’s Open Blocks in Offshore China in 2012.

SK will operate the two blocks and cover 80 percent of the exploration costs. The companies plan to collect 2D-seismic data and drill exploration wells. CNOOC will have the right to a working interest of up to 60 percent in any commercial discovery.

On Saturday, CNOOC announced estimated reserves of 100 bcm (3.5 tcf) in the Lingsui 17-2 gasfield, also in the South China Sea. The region is subject to territorial disputes between China, which claims the whole of the sea, and neighbouring countries – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan – that also claim areas of the sea.

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