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CNOOC Limited

Statement by Fu Chengyu, Chairman and CEO of CNOOC Limited

Beijing (ots/PRNewswire)

We are extremely pleased that Unocal
has indicated today they will begin engaging in talks concerning our
all cash offer. We are prepared to start immediately. As we indicated
upon announcing our bid, we believe this offer brings superior value
to Unocal shareholders. It is important to know that 70 percent of
Unocal's current reserves are located in Asia, and that is one of the
reasons why this transaction makes sound business sense for our
company. Substantially all of the oil and gas produced by Unocal in
the U.S. will continue to be sold in the U.S. The development of
properties in the Gulf of Mexico will provide further supplies of oil
and gas for American markets. I want to re-emphasize our commitment
to retain the jobs of substantially all of Unocal's employees, as
opposed to Chevron's plan to lay off employees, especially in the
United States.
In preparing our bid, CNOOC Limited always anticipated that our
merger with Unocal would be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the US (CFIUS). We are fully prepared to participate in
a CFIUS review of the transaction and we have proactively made
assurances to Unocal to address concerns relating to energy security
and ownership of Unocal assets located in the United States.
CNOOC Limited has said that we are prepared to sell or take other
actions with respect to Unocal's minority pipeline interests and
storage assets so long as such a sale does not cause substantial
economic harm to Unocal, and we will reiterate this commitment to the
CFIUS committee when appropriate. We are also open to discussing with
CFIUS placing non-E&P assets under American management through
arrangements that CFIUS has approved often in the past.
We are prepared to enter into talks with the CFIUS committee to
discuss these issues as soon as the committee is ready to do so.
Advisors
CNOOC Limited is advised by Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. and J.P.
Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd. N M Rothschild & Sons (Hong
Kong) Limited also assisted the board's non-executive directors in
their review of the transaction.
More information about the transaction can be found through CNOOC
Limited's website ( www.cnoocltd.com ) and through CNOOC Limited's
transaction microsite ( www.transactioninfo.com/cnooc ).
Important Notice:
This document contains statements about expected future events and
financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the
safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important
factors could affect future results and could cause those results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements: whether a transaction with Unocal will occur and the
terms and conditions of any such transaction; the extent and timing
of our ability to realize synergies from the transaction; the effect
of the transaction on employees, customers and other persons that
have a material commercial relationship with CNOOC Limited or Unocal
and our ability to maximize the value of those relationships; the
possibility that the anticipated benefits from the acquisition cannot
be fully realized; the possibility that costs or difficulties related
to the integration of Unocal operations will be greater than
expected; the impact of competition; the parties' ability to obtain
required regulatory and other approvals in connection with the
transaction; and other risk factors relating to our industry as
detailed from time to time in each of CNOOC Limited's and Unocal's
reports filed with the SEC. In addition, future results could also
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
press release. Unless legally required, CNOOC Limited undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
    Contacts:
    Investor
     Xiao Zongwei
     Tel:   +86-10-8452-1646
     CNOOC Limited (Beijing)
    Media
     Hong Kong
     Tim Payne or Ray Bashford
     Tel:   +852-3512-5000
     Brunswick Group
     Beijing
     Caroline Jinqing Cai
     Tel:   +86-10-8580-5203
     Brunswick Group
     New York
     Steve Lipin or Michael Buckley
     Tel:   +1-212-333-3810
     Brunswick Group
     Washington, D.C.
     Mark Palmer
     Tel:   +1-202-419-3557
     Public Strategies, Inc
Web sites: http://www.cnoocltd.com
               http://www.transactioninfo.com/cnooc

Contact:

Xiao Zongwei, +86-10-8452-1646, of CNOOC Limited (Beijing); Tim Payne
or Ray Bashford, +852-3512-5000, Caroline Jinqing Cai,
+86-10-8580-5203, Steve Lipin or Michael Buckley, +1-212-333-3810, of
Brunswick Group, for CNOOC Limited; Mark Palmer, +1-202-419-3557, of
Public Strategies, Inc, for CNOOC Limited