HONG KONG (Dow Jones Newswires), August 11, 2008

China National Offshore Oil Corp., or Cnooc, and China National Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec, are joining forces to bid for an Angolan oil and gas asset owned by U.S.-based Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) that is expected to fetch about US$1.5 billion, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, citing unnamed sources.

The report said India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras. are among the rival bidders. Marathon Oil will select the winning bid over the next few days, the paper said.

Cnooc and Sinopec couldn't be reached for comment, the paper said.

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