The China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd.) announced Monday that it has signed agreements for exploration permits on four blocks off Australia.

CNOOC Ltd signed the agreements with BHP Billiton Limited (BHP Billiton) and Kerr-McGee Australia Exploration and Production Company Ltd.(Kerr-McGee) through its subsidiary, the CNOOC Australia E&P Company for a 25 percent interest in each of the exploration permits.

The four blocks, WA-301-P, WA-303-P, WA-304-P and WA-305-P, are located in the Outer Browse Basin, off Australia's northwest coast.

The blocks are about 300 kilometers offshore and cover a total of 21,000 square kilometers in waters up to 2,000 meters deep.

The operator of the four permits is BHP Billiton.

Yang Hua, executive vice-president of CNOOC, said further expansion of CNOOC's natural gas business in Australia is part of the company's strengthened overseas development strategy.

Incorporated in Hong Kong in 1999 and listed in 2001 both in New York and Hong Kong, the CNOOC is a 70.64 percent held subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's largest offshore oil and gas producer.

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