(Hong Kong, June 26, 2006) - CNOOC Limited (NYSE: CEO, SEHK: 883, “the Company") announced today that its contractor, Offshore Oil Engineering Corporation Ltd (“Offshore Oil Engineering”), during the examination of the jacket by ROV, discovered partial deformation in parts of the underwater structure of the jacket for PY30-1 project.  Up to now, there has been no casualty or other damages of equipment because the problems were identified and measures have been taken in a timely manner.  According to preliminary analysis, this deformation has changed the safety factor of the jacket and has some impact on platform safety issue.

Offshore Oil Engineering has issued an announcement today regarding the above problems (http://cnoocengineering.com/yingwen/index_e.html).

Due to the complexity of the problems, Offshore Oil Engineering will organize experts to conduct further investigation and analysis.  Currently, Offshore Oil Engineering has started emergency plan and has taken active measures to prepare for a program for restoration.

To effectively minimize engineering risks, the Company has bought CAR (Construction All Risks) insurance for the engineering and installation operations of PY30-1 project.  This project is located in the Pearl River Mouth basin in Eastern South China Sea, about 240 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong.  The average water depth is around 200 meters.

Mr. Zhou Shouwei, President of the Company commented: “ We’ll work closely with Offshore Oil Engineering to ensure a timely and appropriate solution to the relevant engineering problems.  PY30-1 project is scheduled to come on stream next year, therefore, this incident won’t have significant impact on our production and operation this year.”