CNOOC vows to honor environmental commitments
CNOOC vows to honor environmental commitments
Tim Molloy, Associated Press/Los Angeles
A spokesman for China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd. pledged that the company would uphold environmental and worker protection commitments if the company's bid for Unocal Corp. is successful.
The comment came in response to a letter on Wednesday from state attorneys general in California, Texas, Montana and New Mexico that expressed concern about CNOOC's US$18.5 billion takeover bid last month for the El Segundo-based oil company.
Their letter pressed Unocal President Joseph Bryant for details on whether Unocal would uphold promises to clean up several polluted sites in the four states. They also asked for assurances that retired Unocal employees would not lose their pensions or health care plans.
CNOOC spokesman Mark Palmer said in an interview on Wednesday that the attorneys general should not be concerned.
"CNOOC would be honored to abide by all of the laws of the United States and the states in which it would have operations were its offer for Unocal to be accepted, and that includes, certainly, environmental and worker protection laws," Palmer said.
Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said CNOOC's statement was no guarantee it would meet Unocal's commitments.
"It's better than telling us to take a hike," he said, but added, "There's a difference between promising to obey state and federal law and providing assurances that the obligations to clean up contaminated sites are fulfilled."
Unocal spokesman Mike Thacher said he did not know if the company had officially received the letter and could not commit on it.
The letter from the attorneys general said Unocal has estimated the cost of fulfilling its environmental cleanup responsibilities at $771 million.
American politicians have warned that CNOOC's effort could pose risks to U.S. national security and called for a full review by the Bush administration. The Chinese company's officials have welcomed a security review and denied that CNOOC was acting on behalf of China's government, which is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar campaign to secure foreign oil and gas supplies to power its booming economy.
CNOOC is bidding against San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp. for Unocal, the ninth-largest U.S. oil and gas firm. The Chinese firm has argued that its offer is more generous for Unocal shareholders and would result in fewer job losses.