Chevron Seeks Greater China Links Two Years After Unocal Tussle

By Ying Lou

The company will seek opportunities in exploration, deepwater drilling and natural gas output, Isikeli Taureka, president of Chevron International Exploration and Production, said in an interview in San Francisco yesterday.

Oil demand in China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, will rise 5.7 percent this year, the International Energy Agency said in an Aug. 10 forecast. Cnooc, China's largest offshore oil explorer, was thwarted in August 2005 when U.S. lawmakers helped block its $18.5 billion bid for Unocal, citing threats to national energy security.

``I see a lot of openness and a lot of cooperation at the national level toward foreign investment,'' Taureka said at the U.S.-China Oil & Gas Industry Forum. ``I think the relationship is still positive despite what the governments did.''

Chevron has production-sharing contracts with Cnooc in developing oil areas off the Chinese coast. The Chinese company is a partner with Chevron and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. in a gas- export project off Western Australia that made its first shipment of liquefied natural gas to China in June last year.

Chevron is in talks with PetroChina Co., the nation's biggest oil producer, to develop the Luojiazhai sour-gas field in Sichuan province and the San Ramon, California-based company is doing due diligence on the project, Taureka said, declining to give more details.

'Be Patient'

China's government is gradually changing the way it prices energy products including natural gas and fuels and making these more market-related will help Chevron meet its investment return threshold on projects in the world's fastest-growing major economy, Taureka said.

``You have to be patient in China,'' he said. ``We will respect that China is still very much a society that is in some way moving from a planned economy to a somewhat market-oriented economy.''

Chevron is also interested in doing joint exploration with Chinese companies in a third country, Taureka said.

The U.S. and China are the world's two biggest energy consumers. Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Irving, Texas, is the world's biggest oil company.

Last Updated: September 11, 2007 03:03 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4oSgt00WOBk

And for a bit of intrigue Henry Kissinger is a member of CNOOC's advisory group, another member of the advisory group is Simon Murray formerly of the Jardine Matheson Group:

CNOOC Limited names world-class leaders as advisory board members Henry Kissinger and Simon Murray join the team along with others

Beijing, October 29, 2001) CNOOC Limited (SEHK:883, NYSE:CEO, the "Company") announced today that the Company has established an International Advisory Board with top-notch, globally well-respected political figures and corporate leaders as members. This testifies to the Company′s commitment to ensuring highest management quality that surpasses international standards and good corporate governance.

The mission of the Advisory Board is to provide the management with strategic advice on world events and macro issues that may impact the Company′s development.

The five prominent members of the Advisory Board include former US Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, as well as Mr. Simon Murray, former Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa and currently the Chairman of a private investment group. Other members are Professor Edward Steinfeld, a political economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. Erwin Schurtenberger, former Ambassador of Switzerland to China; and Professor Kenneth S. Courtis, an economist at Goldman Sachs and the Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia.

"As a global oil and gas company, CNOOC Ltd. needs advisors with global vision and world-acclaimed track record to spearhead the Company together with our management team in a dynamic and highly globalized environment. We are delighted that the Company is able to recruit an advisory board with world-class quality and diversity," commented Mr. Wei Liucheng, Chairman and CEO of the Company. "The establishment of the Advisory Board is part of the company′s efforts to ensure highest management quality and best corporate governance, which is of paramount importance to creating values for our shareholders. The Company and our investors will both benefit from it significantly."

Advisors′ brief biographies are attached for reference

Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger was sworn in September 22, 1973 at the White House as the 56th Secretary of State. He will continue to hold the position of Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs which he first assumed in 1969. Dr. Kissinger was born in Germany in May, 1923. He received the PhD Degree at Harvard University in 1954. He has written six books and more than forty articles on United States foreign policy, international affairs, and diplomatic history and received many awards on his achievements in international affairs.

Simon Murray was the Executive Chairman of Asia Pacific for the Deutche Bank Group with responsibility for the supervision of operation of 80 offices in 17 countries in the region. He has lived in Asia for over 30 years, 14 of which were spent with the Jardine Matheson Group. Thereafter he founded Davenham Investments, a project advisory company. He later sold the firm and became the Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa in 1984. He is currently a Director of a number of companies that include Hutchison Whampoa, Cheung Kong Holdings, Tommy Hilfiger in the USA and Vivendi Universal in France.

Edward S. Steinfeld is an assistant professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He received both his undergraduate and doctoral training at Harvard University. He is a China specialist, and speaks and reads Mandarin, and has conducted extensive firm-level research in China. His book, Forging Reform in China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry, was published in 1998 by Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Schurtenberger was the Ambassador of Switzerland to China, the Democratic People′s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Mongolia. He has been an independent business advisor to various European multinationals, American groups and humanitarian aid organizations such as Credit Suisse Financial Services, Novartis and Bunge. He received a PhD. Degree in Economics and was trained in political science and philosophy.

Kenneth S Courtis is Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia. He advises the firm on economics and strategy throughout the Asia-Pacific region as well as in Europe and North America. Professor Courtis has won numerous prizes and distinctions for his research and is valued advisor on international economic, financial and investment matters. He has published on major international economic, public policy, investment, and strategy issues and frequently commentator on television news programs. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he served as Chief Asia Economist and Strategy for Deutche Bank.

http://www.cnoocltd.com/en/news_info.aspx?newsid=20070620203440343

and wait there's more:

Clip:
"Given the highly damaging nature of the resignation it is difficult not to conclude that such disclosure must have had the potential to lead to even worse, and therefore immense, embarrassment. And indeed this seems more than likely. In particular disclosure would almost certainly have placed further public attention on Kissinger's role as an adviser to US oil company Unocal and its relationship with the Taliban in Afghanistan (more details below).

But this would not have simply been a personal embarrassment to Kissinger. The Unocal trail leads directly to Enron and then on towards Vice President Dick Cheney.

Former federal war crimes prosecutor John Loftus already claims knowledge of paperwork confirming secret dealings between Enron and the Taliban. According to Loftus an al-Qaeda document on this subject was discovered in 1998 by FBI counter-terrorism chief, John O'Neil, following the US embassy bombings in Africa.

The real dynamite, however, is that Loftus also claims that Cheney instructed the FBI in January 2001 to back-off investigations of al-Qaeda in order to protect Enron's interest in the development of a gas pipeline through Afghanistan. That pipeline was originally due to be built by Unocal, with no less than Henry Kissinger himself hired by them to advise on the project.

O'Neil resigned from the FBI in the summer of 2001 in protest at the attempts by the Bush administration to obstruct him in his pursuit of al-Qaeda - and the rest, as they say, is history. Or not quite.

Although O'Neil took a job at the World Trade Centre following his resignation and was killed in the attacks on 911, Loftus says that fellow FBI agent Robert Wright has compiled his own findings on the Enron block. Wright has, however, been prevented by his superiors from publishing them."

Source:
'Fight Smart' Update - 15 Dec 2002
Kissinger Clients
Lead To Enron, Cheney and 911
911 Cover-Up Wobbles

http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpWESSEX/Documents/WATinquirychaos.htm