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China's CNOOC files arbitration over Hess stake in Guyana oil block

Chinese overseas oil and gas major CNOOC stated it had filed an arbitration claim to develop a right over Hess' stake in the huge Guyana oilfield Stabroek in case of the U.S. company's sale to Chevron.

CNOOC filed the arbitration application on March 15, following a similar move by its other Stabroek partner Exxon Mobil, Xu Yugao, CNOOC's board of directors secretary, informed a revenues briefing late on Thursday.

We have a joint operating arrangement with partners relating to the Stabroek block. We will deal with pertinent problems based on the appropriate arbitration terms, Xu stated.

Exxon, the operator of Stabroek, holds a 45% stake, while Hess has 30% and CNOOC 25%.

Exxon and Chevron remain in talks over Exxon's claim that it has a right of very first rejection on any sale of the Stabroek block, a giant field off the coast of Guyana which contains a minimum of 11 billion barrels of oil.

Stabroek is the prize in Chevron's $53 billion bid for Hess. It is the website of the biggest oil discoveries in practically 2 decades and is expected to produce more than 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas daily by 2027.

CNOOC on Thursday reported a 12.6% fall in its 2023 web revenue due to weakening oil and gas rates, but record production driven by domestic fields in Bohai Bay and overseas operations in Guyana and Brazil helped the outcome.

(source: Reuters)