China Offers Oil-Exploration Blocks Near Disputed Waters
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China National Offshore Oil Corp. offered foreign companies oil and gas blocks that lie near waters also claimed by Vietnam and Japan as tensions flare among the countries over rights to resources in the area.
The state-owned oil and gas explorer put up 26 blocks in this year’s second round of auctions, according to a statement dated yesterday on the Beijing-based company’s website. A site known as 65/12 is within 50 kilometers (31 miles) of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea near a block put up for bid last year that prompted a protest from Vietnam.