BEIJING - BP said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) in China has given approval to the company to explore in block 43/11 in the South China Sea, in which China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is the operator.

BP will have about 40 percent of the stake in the gas field during the exploration period, while after the block enters into its production phase, BP will have about 20 percent of the share, according to Chen Liming, President of BP China.

The green light from the MOFCOM is the final procedure before the project is due to start, but Chen didn't say when that would be.

BP and CNOOC signed a cooperation agreement on the project during Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang's visit to London in January.

This is the company's second deepwater project in China following a 40.8 percent stake in block 42/05 in the east China Sea that was bought from US-based Devon Energy in Sept of 2010.