Beijing, People's Republic of China, May 17, 2002 -- ChevronTexaco and partners, Petronas Carigali (the exploration and production arm of Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned petroleum corporation), and CNOOC Ltd. have confirmed an oil discovery in the Liaodong Bay 02/31 Block in Bohai Bay, China. The LD 27-2-3 well, which was drilled in 21 meters of water to a total depth of 2,700 meters, encountered multiple oil zones in the Minghuazhen, Guantao, and Dongying Formations. Four light-oil zones were tested and yielded 33-36 API oil at a combined rate of 4,600 barrels per day. Under the production sharing contract, CNOOC Ltd has the right to take up to a 51 percent participating interest in the development of the oil discovery.

Located about 104 kilometers southeast of Qinghuangdao City, LD 27-2 structure had its first wildcat well LD 27-2-1 drilled in 2000 and encountered over 100 meters of oil show without tests. Since the end of 2001, two wells LD 27-2-2 and LD 27-2-3 were drilled. 

"We are encouraged by the exploration success in LD 27-2 structure which is another piece of evidence of the huge oil potential in Bohai Bay," commented Ru Ke, senior vice president of CNOOC Ltd. "Several major discoveries have been made in Bohai Bay in recent years. The new discovery will further enlarge our reserves in the area which has become the largest producing area of CNOOC Ltd."

"We are very happy with the confirmation of high-quality oil and high production rates from the LD 27-2 prospect," said Sam Snyder, managing director of ChevronTexaco's China Business Unit. "We will be working diligently with our partners, Petronas Carigali and CNOOC Ltd., to evaluate this discovery through further appraisal drilling."

This latest drilling success continues to build on the company's enlarged portfolio of assets in China following the ChevronTexaco merger last year. 

Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by ChevronTexaco Corp. and OAS Sovcomflot that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, ChevronTexaco undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.