The company is one of five worldwide in a joint-venture to develop the South Pars offshore gas field (the others include companies from close U.S. allies France and Canada as well as Indonesia and Russia).

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The only big offshore Arctic production site is the Snohvit gas field in the Norwegian Barents Sea, opened by Statoil in 2007.

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Due for completion in 2013, it will take gas from Myanmar's offshore Shwe field and will have the capacity to satisfy 10% of China's oil-import needs.

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With the recent confirmation of the Leviathan field, an offshore natural gas discovery able to meet total domestic demand for approximately 40 years, Israel has entered a new and potentially remarkable era of energy exploration and production.

FORBES

The company will also spend 11.38 billion rupees by 2015 on gas processing complexes of its satellite field, also western offshore.

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The Leviathan field was one of the world's largest offshore natural gas finds this past decade.

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Shell, which operates an offshore field in the Bay of Bengal, reckons Bangladesh's gas reserves could be as big as Indonesia's, which are among the largest in Asia.

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China National Offshore Oil Corp: China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran in 2006 to develop the Northern Pars gas field and build liquefied natural gas installations.

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