According to Mr Chen Genkai the secretary of the Zhongshan municipal Party committee, CNOOC Ltd has decided to invest CNY 30 billion to build a gas-fuelled power generation center in Zhongshan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province.

Mr Chen Genkai said related agreement will be signed on March 28, 2009.

CNOOC plans to make the investment through its wholly-owned subsidiary, CNOOC Gas and Power Group.

According to related plan, CNOOC's power generation center in Zhongshan will be based on the existing Jiaming Power Plant to expand the plant in two phases, and selectively integrate peripheral power plants to develop a batch of high efficiency gas-fired power plants.

CNOOC Gas & Power, located in Beijing, is in charge of the operation and management of CNOOC's oil, gas and electric power businesses. So far, it has established dozens of subsidiaries, including Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co Ltd.