China Says to Have "Prudent" Oil Exploration with Philippines

Posted by Michelle Howard
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
China will prudently advance cooperation with the Philippines on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, China's top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi said on Wednesday after meeting his Philippine counterpart.

Any potential deals between Manila and Beijing on energy exploration in the disputed waterway should be agreed with a company and not the Chinese government, a senior Philippine official said earlier this month.

China claims most of the South China Sea, a key trade route and home to areas that are believed to hold large quantities of oil and natural gas. Along with China, parts of the South China Sea are subject to competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The two countries in February agreed to set up a special panel to work out how they can jointly explore offshore oil and gas in areas both sides claim, without needing to address the touchy issue of sovereignty.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Wang said the South China Sea will be turned into a source of friendship and cooperation.

"We will enhance maritime dialogue and pursue equal footed and friendly consultation and in a prudent and steady way advance cooperation on offshore oil and gas exploration," Wang said, without giving details.

However, pursuing a joint project would be extremely complex and sensitive, as sharing oil and gas reserves could be seen as endorsing the other countries' claims.

"The Philippines and China are finding a common legal framework to conduct joint exploration and surveys. And with our discussions today I'm confident that we will find a suitable legal framework for our differences," Cayetano said.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said China has proposed joint exploration that was "like co-ownership" and better than the two fighting over it.

The Philippines suspended exploration in the Reed Bank in 2014 to pursue a legal challenge to China's territorial claims.

Included in a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague was a clarification of Manila's sovereign right to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, within its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

The Philippines, China's CNOOC Ltd and state-owned PetroVietnam jointly surveyed the Reed Bank from 2003 to 2008.

The Philippines' ties with China have warmed under Duterte, who has put aside territorial disputes in exchange for trade opportunities and pledged financing for infrastructure projects.

Cayetano said Duterte would visit China next month to attend an economic forum on the southern island province of Hainan and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard
Categories: Energy Fuels & Lubes Government Update Offshore Energy Surveyors

Related Stories

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Wood JV Gets EPC Job for Shell off Brunei

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Testing Capabilities in Indonesia

UK Firm Secures Exploration Extension for Two Blocks off Vietnam

ABL Lands Work on BP’s Indonesian Gas and CCUS Project

BP Expands Oil and Gas Scope in Azerbaijan with New Projects and Exploration Rights

Azeri SOCAR Plans New Agreements with Oil and Gas Majors

Argentina YPF to Shed Offshore Exploration Projects

Current News

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Petrovietnam, Partners Sign PSC for Block Off Vietnam

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com