RNS No 6893b
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY
9th June 1998


          ARCO, CNOOC Expand Cooperation Agreement For Development
                    of Gas Fields in South China Sea

LOS ANGELES, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- A cooperation agreement signed last
October between Los Angeles-based ARCO and the China National Offshore Oil
Corp' (CNOOC) for development of the Ledong natural gas fields in the South
China Sea was expanded today to include structures in the nearby Wenchang area
where gas was previously discovered.

The supplementary agreement, signed today by CNOOC President Wang Yan and
ARCO President William E. Wade, Jr., increases the likelihood that a
commercially viable project can be developed by combining the Ledong/Wenchang
prospects with the nearby ARCO-operated Yacheng 13-1 gas field which has been
supplying qas to Hong Kong since 1996.

An expanded feasibility study is scheduled to be completed by the end of
this month.

The Wenchang area has three geological structures, two of which -- 9-1 and
9-2 -- have been drilled and found to contain gas.  The Wenchang area is about
20 miles from the midpoint of the 480-mile pipeline that carries natural gas
from the Yacheng field to Hong Kong.

The three Ledong fields, covering about 925 square kilometers (357 square
miles), were discovered in 1996 by China National Offshore Nanhai West
Corporation, a CNOOC subsidiary, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of
Hainan Island.  The Ledong fields are approximately 20 miles west of Yacheng
13-1, China's largest offshore natural gas field.

"Adding Wenchang to our study of the Ledong fields brings a whole new
dimension to this project," said Wade. "If development proceeds, the project
will enable CNOOC and ARCO to build additional value in the South China Sea
and supply cleaner-burning natural gas for the energy growth needs of southern
China."

The feasibility studies currently underway include an engineering and
geological evaluation of the fields, an assessment of recoverable reserves,
and identification of possible markets for the gas.  If the two companies
agree that the area is worth joint development, they will begin further
cooperation in the near future.

In 1982, ARCO became the first foreign oil company to sign an offshore
exploration contract with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. This led to
the 1983 discovery of the Yacheng 13-1 gas field with its 3 trillion cubic
feet of reserves southwest of Hainan Island.  CNOOC, ARCO and Kuwait Foreign
Petroleum Exploration Co. are joint developers of that field.  Most of the
Yacheng gas is delivered to the Black Point Power Plant in Hong Kong.  Another
pipeline makes gas deliveries to Hainan Island.

For a menu of ARCO's news releases or to retrieve a specific release,
visit our Web site at http://www.arco.com on the Internet.

CONTACT: Albert Greenstein of ARCO, 213-486-3384/
Web site: http://www.arco.com/
(ARC)


END

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