China's largest offshore oil producer CNOOC will invest more than 300 billion yuan (US$43.86 billion) in the southern Guangdong province in the next five years, said company General Manager Fu Chengyu.

The investment will mainly go toward development of oil and gas fields under the South China Sea, construction of petrochemical projects in Huizhou city, and the building of a natural gas pipeline in the region, Fu said.

Guangdong is a key base for CNOOC's future development, said Fu. The company has invested over 120 billion yuan in the province, and in 2008 alone it invested 33 billion yuan in the region.

(China Daily March 5, 2009)