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CNOOC Ltd lifts lid on Tianwaitian output



By Upstream staff 

China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC Ltd) has started producing from the disputed Tianwaitian field in the East China Sea at a rate of about 4 million cubic feet per day, it said in a filing.

The field came on stream late last year despite Japanese objections to the development.

The output figures were made public in CNOOC Ltd's annual report, which was lodged with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today.

However, CNOOC shares all gas produced with Sinopec, which has a 50% stake in the field but does not operate it, meaning actual output would be twice the reported volume.

The report said there had been no production at the Chunxiao field, which has the largest gas reserves of the disputed fields and has captured most of the headlines during the nations' spats.

Japan and China disagree over the boundary between their exclusive marine economic zones and Japan objects to Chinese development of gas fields near the border.

Although the fields are in an undisputed area, Tokyo fears the drilling operations could drain gas from its side.

Oil output from Tianwaitian was registered as a tiny 42 barrels per day.

The annual report, with full details of the firm's reserves and producing assests, was released around two weeks after CNOOC revealed headline earnings figures for last year.

At the time, chief executive Fu Chengyu said Japanese resources were not threatened by its drilling, but declined to comment directly on whether production had begun.

"The so-called suck effect does not exist," Fu said.

"Both governments are discussing the issue and we're in active contact with Japanese firms, talking about joint development" in the East China Sea, Fu said.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, which handles energy affairs, o declined immediate comment on the new production figure.

"We will have to confirm that because we did not see anything about commercial productions at the field in the company earnings report last month," an official said.


Wednesday, 11 April, 2007, 09:38 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 11 April, 2007, 12:46 GMT

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