China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC; CEO.NYSE, 0083.HK) will pay US$1.08 billion for a one-third stake in a shale gas project in Texas, Bloomberg reported. Under the deal, CNOOC will acquire 33.3% of Chesapeake Energy’s 600,000 oil and natural gas leasehold acres in Eagle Ford, Texas. The project is estimated to contain reserves of over 80 billion barrels of oil. Chesapeake Energy noted that the project contains natural gas and "appears to produce much more oil" than similar North American shale fields. In August, CNOOC Chairman Fu Chengyu said that merger and acquisition activity would be an "important driving force" in the Chinese conglomerate’s future growth strategy.