Chevron acquires interest to explore oil on 8,100 square miles in South China Sea

Chevron acquires oil exploration rights in China

SAN RAMON, Calif. — Chevron Corp.’s Chinese subsidiary has acquired rights to explore for oil on 8,100 square miles in the South China Sea’s Pearl River mouth basin, the oil company said Tuesday.

Chevron won final approval to explore three blocks, acquiring 100 percent interest in two of them and just over 59 percent of another. BP will acquire the remaining interest in the third exploration block, Chevron said in a statement.

The exploration rights were purchased from Devon Energy China Ltd. Terms were not disclosed.

The San Ramon, Calif., oil company said it will use drilling technology and expertise to run the exploration operations, with a production-sharing contract with China National Offshore Oil Corp.

Chevron said it has been in China for nearly a century. It currently is a partner with the national offshore oil company in Bohai Bay and the South China Sea.

(This version corrects to square miles sted acres in headline)