China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is to sign a deal to acquire a 50 % stake in China United Coal Bed Methane Co. (CUCBM), according to reports.

If so, the move reflects CNOOC Group's efforts to become an integrated energy company by expanding its focus from offshore oil and gas drilling to unconventional gas resources. CUCBM, a former joint venture with CNPC and China Coal on a 50-50 basis, has been suffering from insufficient capital flow since CNPC's withdrawal in 2009.
Currently, China Coal holds 100 % interest of the CBM producer. Earlier, reports said that CNOOC's capital injection is expected to boost China CBM's annual output to 3-5 bn cm by the end of 2015.

As China's first CBM producer, China CBM has 27 CBM blocks with total acreage of 20,151 sq km, including 14 blocks or 15,915 sq km under cooperation with foreign investors.

The company had a monopoly on developing CBM projects with foreign partners until earlier this month when China said it will allow China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corp. or Sinopec Group and Henan Provincial Coal Seam Gas Development & Utilization Co. to do the same.

CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer but a newcomer in the CBM field, is heading towards fulfillment of the strategy to strengthen its natural gas businesses.

Its move to acquire CUCBM is regarded as part of the strategy.

In November, Hong Kong-listed unit CNOOC Ltd announced that it had acquired a 33.3 % undivided interest in Chesapeake Energy's 600,000 net oil and natural gas leasehold acres in the Eagle Ford Shale project in South Texas.

The consideration for the transaction was $ 1.08 bn in cash, plus an additional $ 40 mm payment adjustment at closing.

In addition, CNOOC Limited agreed to fund 75 % of Chesapeake's share of drilling and completion costs up to $ 1.08 bn, which Chesapeake expects to occur by year-end 2012.

And in December, CNOOC executed a farm-in agreement with Exoma Energy to acquire a 50 % participating interest in Exoma’s ATP 991, 996, 999, 1005 and 1008 located in the central Queensland Galilee Basin by contributing $ 50 mm towards exploration and appraisal expenditure during the farm-in period, expiring on 31 August 2013.