CNOOC may pursue Unocal

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the country's third largest oil producer, said yesterday it was considering rivaling US-based Chevron-Texaco's US$16bn offer to acquire Unocal, which is awaiting US regulatory approval, according to media reports. If successful, the overseas acquisition would be China's largest and would pave the way for CNOOC to tap into Unocal's assets which include petroleum fields in Indonesia and Thailand. Unocal had no comment on the CNOOC development.