OREANDA-NEWS. June 01, 2011. China's state-owned offshore oil and natural gas producer China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, has offered 19 offshore blocks in the South China Sea for joint exploration with foreign companies, according to a notice posted on its website.

The company is offering 12 blocks in the east area of South China Sea, and seven blocks in the west area of the South China Sea, according to the notice.

The batch of 19 blocks, for potential oil and natural gas development, covers an area of 52,006 sq km.

CNOOC issued a similar tender offer last year for 13 offshore blocks for joint exploration with potential foreign investors.

In February, a report by state television CCTV said that CNOOC plans to invest Yuan 350 billion (USD 54 billion) over the next five years to explore domestic oil and natural gas resources.

According to the report, CNOOC plans to spend over Yuan 20 billion in deepwater exploration and development of oil and gas.

A month earlier, the company's listed arm CNOOC Ltd. said the company has budgeted USD 8.77 billion in capital expenditure for 2011, which is a growth of 10.6% over its capex in 2010.

Of the total expenditure, CNOOC said it plans to spend USD 1.56 billion for exploration, USD 5.05 billion for development and USD 2.02 billion for production.

"We will continue to focus on South China Sea [exploration] in the foreseeable future," CNOOC Chief Executive Yang Hua said then during a press conference discussing the company's 2011 business strategy.