RP, China sign mining agreement

STATE-RUN Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) on Thursday signed an agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) for a joint mining exploration in certain areas of the South China Sea.

In a statement, the Department of Energy said that the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) covers a three-year joint research by the PNOC and CNOOC to collect, process and analyze seismic data in the South China Sea. The two government agencies will also look into the petroleum resource potential in certain areas of the country but no drilling or development is covered in the agreement.