China's CNOOC tenders another 26 offshore blocks, many in South China Sea

BEIJING: CNOOC, China's top offshore oil producer, is looking to team up with foreign companies this year to explore for oil and gas in another 26 blocks, including 22 in the strategically important South China Sea, although an analyst said none of these were in disputed territory.

The tender comes two months after China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) invited international firms to bid for nine blocks in the western part of the South China Sea, a move Vietnam said was illegal as the blocks encroached on its territorial waters.