Posted on Tumblr on Sep 29.

The discovery was made under 550m of water in the Haute Mer A area, operated and 45% owned by CNOOC in partnership with Congo’s state-owned SNPC, Taiwan’s CPC and Jean-Claude Gandur’s Oryx Petroleum. (Meanwhile Addax Petroleum, sold by Mr Gandur to Sinopec in 2009, has just lost a ruling amid its $1bn legal battle over a Gabon license.) CNOOC’s permit to explore in Haute Mer A was approved at the end of 2008.