CNOOC shares fall on news of Purchase

CNOOC Ltd shares fell to their lowest in almost a week in Hong Kong trading after a newspaper said China's biggest offshore oil producer may spend as much as $2.5 billion on a stake in Tullow Oil Plc's Ugandan assets.

They dropped as much as 3.3 percent to HK$11.22, the lowest since Feb 2. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 0.7 percent. Oil in New York was at $71.44 a barrel in electronic trading, after gaining 81 percent in the past year.

A $2.5 billion bid would be the largest by CNOOC, the listed unit of State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The company has lagged behind domestic rivals PetroChina and Sinopec in overseas acquisitions since it paid $2.7 billion for a stake in a Nigerian oilfield in 2006.