The Xihu Trough () is a region in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

, located approximately 400 kilometres east of the cities of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. The region is a repository for natural gas, and consists of the Chunxiao, Tianwaitian, Canxue, Duanqiao, and Pinghue fields. The entire trough is approximately 500 kilometres long, and runs parallel to the Chinese coast. On August 19, 2003, it was announced that

Sinopec China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Group, is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The SASAC administers China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation for the benefit of State Council of the ...

, CNOOC,

Royal Dutch/Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

and Unocal had entered into a joint venture to exploit the gas reserves in the trough, beginning in mid-2005. Gas production was expected to reach 2.5 km³ a year by 2007. However, on September 29, 2004, the two foreign partners in the joint venture, Royal Dutch/Shell and

Unocal Corporation Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

, announced their withdrawal citing doubts over the commercial viability of the resources in the area and the territorial dispute.

External links

Oil giants depart Xihu Trough gas project
''China Daily''. September 30, 2004. Landforms of China East China Sea {{PRChina-geo-stub