China and North America Energy

This is just some odds and ends about the deepening Chinese involvement in North American energy plays.

Back in 2005, not all that long ago, CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned company, lost its $18.5 billion bid for Unocal following widespread media reports and subsequent political opposition.

Since then, CNOOC and other Chinese companies have entered into several North American shale plays:

• CNOOC will partner with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to develop the Niobrara Shale and Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Colorado. That deal closed Wednesday, February 16, 2011.
• CNOOC closed a similar deal with Chesapeake last November (2010) as partners in the Eagle Ford Shale play in south Texas
• PetroChina and Encana are looking to partner in the British Columbia shale gas project; that is currently being reviewed by the Canadian government. PetroChina is part of the China National Petroleum Corporation, another state-owned entity

There is nothing new here but I may need a page to keep track of all the Chinese plays in North American energy and this may end up being the "main page."