Chinese energy giant, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation has bought oil assets in the USA for the first time. In particular, the CNOOC purchased limited stakes in four deepwater exploitation licences in the Gulf of Mexico from Norway’s Statoil. The cost of the deal is still being kept a secrete, however, according to reliable sources, the cost is not very high. At the same time, experts noted the political significance of the agreement. After a number of failures, China was able to make an acquisition in the US energy sector. In 2005, an 18.5 billion US dollar CNOOC bid for a US Energy Company called Unocal was withdrawn amidst concerns over the sale of strategic assets to China. The administration of the former US president George Bush blocked the deal due to strategic reasons.