Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The withdrawal of China National Offshore Corporation (CNOOC) occurred after the company returned its last asset, located in the Gulf of Mexico, to the government. The decision to prematurely relinquish contractual block 1 (CNH-R01-L04-A1.CPP/2016), operated by CNOOC, was approved by the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH). This was not the only procedure carried out by the company, as it had previously, in 2023, also returned block 4 (CNH-R01-L04-A4.CPP/2016) ahead of schedule.
The total investment made by CNOOC in blocks 1 and 4 amounted to $331 million. Commercial relations with the Chinese state-owned company began in 2016, following the opening of the oil sector, when the company won a public bid that granted it a 35-year license contract, allowing it to explore and produce wells in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
However, the decision to withdraw was driven by the project's low profitability. During the operational period, three wells were drilled, but only one yielded oil, according to CNH commissioner Alfonso Solórzano Fraga. This places CNOOC among the numerous companies that have exited the oil industry in Mexico, including BP, Shell, Chevron, and Equinor.
Main Source:
Gigante chino CNOOC se suma a la lista de petroleras que salen de México en medio de poca exploración – Bloomberg Línea
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