EDITOR'S NOTE: This press release was originally published with an incorrect dateline. A corrected version follows. HONG KONG (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 1, 2001--Standard & Poor's today assigned its triple-'B' long-term foreign currency corporate credit rating to CNOOC Ltd., China's third-largest oil and gas company. The outlook on the rating is stable. The rating reflects CNOOC's large reserve base, good growth opportunities, low cost position, and above-average financial profile. These factors are partially offset by the volatile nature of oil and gas prices, the risks associated with bringing on stream a large undeveloped reserve base, and high capital expenditure requirements. The rating also takes into consideration expectations of a successful initial public offering (IPO) of CNOOC, scheduled for the
