Today, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) added China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) to the U.S. Entity List.  Under the new rule, U.S. and non-U.S. exporters are generally prohibited from transferring items subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to CNOOC without first obtaining a U.S. export license.  As noted in the rule, license applications will face a presumption of denial.

Certain exports of crude oil, condensates, aromatics, natural gas liquids, hydrocarbon gas liquids, natural gas plant liquids, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, natural gas, synthetic natural gas, and compressed natural gas to CNOOC are excluded from the license requirement, as are exports of items to joint ventures with persons from Country Group A:1 countries that operate outside of the South China Sea.

In the notice, the Commerce Department indicated that CNOOC was added to the Entity List due to the company’s involvement in the South China sea dispute.  Suppliers and other companies doing business with CNOOC should carefully review whether these rules apply to their operations and implement controls to prevent exports, re-exports, or transfers of items to CNOOC, unless licensed by BIS.

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