CNOOC buys 33.3% stake in shale project from US's Chesapeake

17 February 2011 05:16  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS)--China’s largest offshore oil producer CNOOC Limited has completed the purchase of 33.3% stake in a shale project in northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming owned by US’s Chesapeake Energy Corporation, CNOOC said on Thursday.

CNOOC paid $570m (€422m) in cash to get the stake in Chesapeake’s 800,000 net oil and natural gas leasehold acres in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) and Powder River Basins in northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming, CNOOC said on its website.

In addition, CNOOC has agreed to fund 66.7% of Chesapeake’s share of drilling and completion costs of up to $697m at the Niobrara shale project, which Chesapeake expects to take place by the end of 2014, CNOOC said.

“We look forward to accelerating the development of this large domestic oil and natural gas resource, resulting in a reduction of our country’s oil imports over time, the creation of thousands of high-paying jobs in the US and the payment of very significant local, state and federal taxes,” Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake’s chief executive officer said.

CNOOC’s Niobrara shale project acquisition was the second shale project bought from Chesapeake following the Eagle Ford shale project finalised late last year.

($1=€0.74)

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