AmericasGreater ChinaOffshore

CNOOC seeking JV partners for its Gulf of Mexico oil prospects

China’s offshore oil and gas giant CNOOC is on a quest to find partners for developing oil prospects in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Bloomberg.

CNOOC’s move makes it the first foreign company to seek to farm out work after successfully winning a bid for Mexican offshore rights, which it did at Mexico’s first deep-water auction in 2016.

Such a farm-out would probably involve CNOOC giving a joint venture partner a stake in the project in return for help in the exploration and production process.

Dozens of companies, including private and foreign ones, have won oil and gas rights in Mexican waters since the country’s politicians decided to open up the energy sector three years ago, ending state oil firm Pemex’s monopoly in domestic production in the hope of boosting overall productivity.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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