CNOOC may consider bidding for new oil company

Analysts are speculating that with Unocal’s move to affirm its support for a newly raised bid from Chevron, CNOOC might abandon its bid for the US oil company and try to buy another company instead, even though CNOOC insists that it is standing by its bid for the California-based company.

CNOOC has been in the process of purchasing stakes in oil companies in several areas of the world for the past three years, and an acquisition of Unocal would double its production capacity and up its reserves by 79 percent.

Attempts to purchase another company could cause even more concern in Washington than the Chinese company’s bid for Unocal has.

For example, one company proposed as a possible target for CNOOC is Marathon Oil, which pumps more crude oil than Unocal and also owns refineries and filling stations.

Even though other foreign companies already own American refineries, at least one analyst believes that the US government would not be enthusiastic about their purchase by a Chinese company.

Besides Marathon, speculation has centered around possible CNOOC bids for such companies as Amerada Hess Corp. or Murphy Oil Co.