Vietnam Warns China to Halt Oil Bids in Area Awarded to Exxon

[beijingwalker]

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Vietnam Warns China to Halt Oil Bids in Area Awarded to Exxon
By Bloomberg News on June 27, 2012

Vietnam’s state-run oil explorer warned China to halt efforts to develop disputed areas of the South China Sea that Hanoi’s leaders have already awarded to companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) (XOM) and OAO Gazprom.

Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, also known as PetroVietnam, will ask China National Offshore Oil Corp., the government-owned parent of Cnooc Ltd. (883), to cancel an invitation for foreign companies to explore nine blocks, Chief Executive Officer Do Van Hau told reporters in Hanoi yesterday. PetroVietnam and its partners will continue exploring in the area and asked foreign companies not to bid for the nine blocks, he said.

PetroVietnam will “unwaveringly oppose” any foreign companies that sign contracts with China to explore for oil in the nine areas, Hau said. “The Vietnamese government will not allow any implementation of these exploration activities.”

The tender threatens to escalate tensions after Chinese vessels last year cut the cables of a PetroVietnam survey ship and chased away a boat in waters delimited by the Philippines. The blocks are the southernmost put out for bid by China in about two decades, according to Arthur Ding, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Taiwan.

“This is one way for China to assert its maritime territory,” he said by phone. “There’s probably more to come. Domestic pressure was building up so they had to do something.”

The state-run company deployed China’s first deep-water drilling rig last month near disputed islands. The blocks, covering an area of 160,124 square kilometers, are available for exploration and development cooperation with foreign companies this year, according to a June 23 statement on the company’s website.
Gazprom, Exxon

China’s blocks overlap with Vietnamese areas that have been awarded to Exxon, Moscow-based Gazprom (OGZD), India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), according to a PetroVietnam map distributed to reporters in Hanoi.

The invitation for bids came as Vietnam’s parliament passed a law reasserting its sovereignty over the area. China summoned Vietnam’s ambassador June 21 to protest the move, with Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun saying Vietnam’s actions weren’t “conducive to peace and stability.”

China hopes Vietnam will “not take actions that will amplify or complicate the dispute,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday in Beijing. “At the same time, Vietnam should stop its activities that infringe upon China’s rights and interests.”

The area “lies entirely within Vietnam’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf,” Luong Thanh Nghi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in comments posted on its website June 25. “This is absolutely not a disputed area.”
Energy Reserves

The area is estimated to have as much as 30 billion metric tons of oil and 16 trillion cubic meters of gas, which would account for about one-third of China’s oil and gas resources, according to the Xinhua News Agency. China had 2 billion tons of proven oil reserves and 99 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in 2010, according to estimates by BP Plc. (BP/)

The Philippines and Vietnam have increased defense ties with the U.S. while rejecting China’s map of the South China Sea as a basis for joint development. China this week repeated its call to shelve disputes in favor of working together to exploit the resources.

The location of the blocks indicates that China claims the maritime spaces within its so-called nine-dash map of the sea, a development that will further alarm claimant states, according to Clive Schofield, director of research at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security.
Future Clashes

“There are highly likely to be future clashes should there be actions taken by any of the countries concerned to try and explore within those blocks,” he said. “The designation of blocks is in a sense a proxy way of states trying to reinforce their jurisdictional rights.”

In 1992, China awarded Crestone Energy Corp. a block off Vietnam’s southern coast that is now owned by Houston-based Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR) (HNR) Talisman, an oil and gas producer with operations in North America, the North Sea and Indonesia, owns the rights for Vietnam.

Routine patrols in the area by China’s maritime surveillance ships coupled with China National Offshore’s enhanced ability to operate in deeper waters has emboldened the country to assert its claims in the area, according to Gary Li, head of marine and aviation forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd., a London-based business advisory firm.

“The Chinese in the next six months are very likely to demonstrate to potential partners their ability to muscle in on these blocks,” he wrote. “So expect more patrols, high profile propaganda announcements and puff pieces on Cnooc personnel.”

[WS-10 Engine]

or else what?

[beijingwalker]

ha,now Vietnam starts to rattle the sabre,let them open the fire first and then we can bomb them back to stone age and annihilate their tiny navy,we've been waiting for so long,this time we can use this sea battle to take back our lands in Spratly.

[ephone]

Warn China? Well, keep warning.

[JD_In]

Warn China? Well, keep warning.

The way you warn the US!

[dunhill]

Under normal conditions, big country and strong country always issued out warnings to small nations and weakness. For this time, Viet Nam released warning issued out to China and its will serious taking action.

Once China crossing the limit lines, then something going on. Moreover, we understand how China capabilities as well. The battle on the Sea will going soon. Viet Nam is not like Philippines that China easily bullying forever. Fight must be taken.

[JD_In]

stay outta this indian troll.

was I wrong? dont u warn the US even if you know they can smash u!!! Then what is wrong if Vietnam warns China? even they have a merit over u warn the US!...

try to first understand the difference between trolling and in context argument!

[EastSea]

Chinese leadership is mad man. The area is inside of Vietnam' EZZ. We don't let them do it.

[fallstuff]

Exxon will not go anywhere near these blocks.

[EastSea]

Exxon will not go anywhere near these blocks.

CNOOC is just saying about invitation for bid. It's big risk for then when do it EZZ of Vietnam. Vietnam will do all necessary action to stop oil drilling in our water.

Vietnam Warns China to Halt Oil Bids in Area Awarded to Exxon
By Bloomberg News on June 27, 2012

You can post some threads about Manchukuo and movement of Manchus in China and oversea doing bst for Independence of your Homeland.

[sweetgrape]

Can't wait to see they how do stop the implemention of oil exploration, If they fire at the oil exploration platform or China coastal guard, that's a good day for me!!

[fallstuff]

CNOOC is just saying about invitation for bid. It's big risk for then when do it EZZ of Vietnam. Vietnam will do all necessary action to stop oil drilling in our water.



You can post some threads about Manchukuo and movement of Manchus in China and oversea doing bst for Independence of your Homeland.

Chinese people have the CapaCity to do their own digging. Vietnam doesn't have the capacity to drill, it has to rely on giant multinational companies.

Even in the case of bangladesh myanmar EEZ issuEs, none was able to get any multinational company involved to get a drilling thing going till the dispute was resolved.

I think Chinese certainly have upper hand all around. Vietnam should resolve this bilateraly without escalating this issue.

[Rechoice]

Chinese people have the CapaCity to do their own digging. Vietnam doesn't have the capacity to drill, it has to rely on giant multinational companies.

Even in the case of bangladesh myanmar EEZ issuEs, none was able to get any multinational company involved to get a drilling thing going till the dispute was resolved.

I think Chinese certainly have upper hand all around. Vietnam should resolve this bilateraly without escalating this issue.

Vietnam have upper hand on this issue. China have to obey rules of international laws, referent to UNCLOS 1982 signed by China. EZZ of Vietnam is overlapped this area. China don't have right to dig oil there.

[S10]

I hope Viet monkeys fire that first shot so we can sink their entire navy plus bombed them 30 years back.

[beijingwalker]

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let those Vietnamese come to stop us and open fire first ,and that will be the starting signal of their navy's total annihilation.