Press Releases

CNOOC Ltd Announces the Startup of PhaseⅡof DF 1-1 Gas Field

Time：2006-05-03: Size：[ Large Medium Small ]

(Hong Kong, May 3, 2006) - CNOOC Limited (NYSE: CEO, SEHK: 883, “the Company") announced today that PhaseⅡof Dong Fang (DF) 1-1 Gas Field, the largest independent gas field of the Company, has come on stream successfully. DF1-1 gas field is producing 187 million cubic feet of natural gas per day currently, among which 35 million cubic feet of natural gas are produced from 3 wells of the Phase Ⅱ.

DF 1-1 gas field is located in Yinggehai Basin of Bei Bu Gulf in Western South China Sea, about 110 kilometers of Dong Fang City in Hainan Province. The average water depth of the field ranges from 63 to 70 meters.

The development facilities in PhaseⅡof DF 1-1 gas field include: two unmanned wellhead platforms, 16 wells, 2 sub-sea pipelines and 2 sub-sea cables. The natural gas produced will mainly be supplied to a methanol project in Hainan.

The peak production capacity of the PhaseⅡ is designed at 111 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. With full-scale production, the total capacity of DF1-1 gas field will reach 98.0 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.

Mr. Zhou Shouwei, President of the Company commented, ”The successful commencement of DF 1-1 gas field PhaseⅡwill further increase the proportion of natural gas in the Company’s production portfolio. We have a number of natural gas projects under development currently, and will strengthen our gas operations and provide more clean energy for the market.

CNOOC Ltd holds 100% interest of DF1-1 gas field and acts as the operator.

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Notes to Editors:

More information about the Company is available at http://www.cnoocltd.com.

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This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expected future events, business prospectus or financial results. The words “believe”, “intend”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “project”, “estimate”, “plan”, “predict” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will meet our expectations and predictions depend on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results, performance and financial condition to differ materially from our expectations. For a description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please see the documents we file from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2005 Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on June 27, 2006.

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For further enquiries, please contact:

Mr. Xiao Zongwei
Joint Company Secretary and General Manager of
Investor Relations Department
CNOOC Limited
Tel: +86-10-8452-1646
Fax: +86-10-8452-1441
E-mail: xiaozw@cnooc.com.cn

Ms. Sharon Fung
Ketchum Newscan Public Relations Ltd
Tel: +852-3141-8082
Fax: +852-2510-8199
E-mail: sharon.fung@knprhk.com

About Us

CNOOC Limited is a listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock codes of 600938 and 00883, respectively. The Company is the largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas in China and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world. The Company mainly engages in exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas.

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100010, P.R. China
Website: www.cnoocltd.com
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