The competition between the China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) and Chevron to acquire Unocal is coming to the crucial moment, said the CNOOC spokesman on Thursday.

California-based Unocal Company will hold a board meeting at its local time Thursday to decide whether to accept the takeover bid of CNOOC.

According to the spokesman, the board will decide whether to support CNOOC's all cash bid of US$18.5 billion for Unocal and whether to recall its further acceptance of Chevron's cash and share bid of US$16.6 billion.

If the Unocal board decides to support CNOOC's bid, it will recommend the plan to Unocal's shareholders, who will hold a special meeting on Aug.10 to make the final vote on Unocal's acquisition choice.

However, if the board denies CNOOC's bid, it does not mean that CNOOC has lost the final opportunity, said the spokesman.

According to securities law in the US, CNOOC could apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the US to win support directly from the shareholders, even though that would make it more difficult for CNOOC to make the deal, he said.

CNOOC, China's third largest oil producer, announced on June 23 that it had proposed a merger with Unocal, a major US oil company, offering US$67 in cash per Unocal share, totaling 18.5 billion US dollars.

If successful, it would be the biggest-ever overseas acquisition for a Chinese company.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2005)