CNOOC Limited

Class Period: Jan 27, 2011 to Sep 16, 2011

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Apr 30, 2012 + Deadline passed

Summary of Case:

A securities class action has been filed against CNOOC Limited ("CNOOC" or the "Company") on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired CNOOC American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") between January 27, 2011 and September 16, 2011.  This case has been filed in the USDC - New York (Southern).

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and financial results. As a result of defendants' false statements, CNOOC's ADSs traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of US $270.64 per ADS on April 4, 2011.

On June 4, 2011, an oil spill occurred at the PL 19-3 oilfield. A second spill occurred at the PL 19-3 oilfield on June 17, 2011. The complaint alleges that CNOOC and ConocoPhillips failed to disclose the spills when they occurred. However, despite CNOOC's attempts to conceal the news, news of the spills began to leak into the market. On July 5, 2011, the State Oceanic Administration ("SOA"), China's coastal regulator, officially acknowledged the spills had occurred. Thereafter, CNOOC downplayed the extent of the damage done by the oil spills and the impact it would have on CNOOC's operations. On September 2, 2011, the SOA announced that it had ordered CNOOC and ConocoPhillips to immediately suspend all oil production at the PL 19-3 oilfield. On September 6, 2011, it was announced that CNOOC and ConocoPhillips would establish a Bohai Bay fund to address the environmental impact of the oil spills. On this news, CNOOC's ADSs declined US$9.39 per ADS on September 6, 2011. Then, on September 18, 2011, it was announced that CNOOC and ConocoPhillips would establish a second Bohai Bay fund. On this news, CNOOC's ADSs declined another US$6.85 per ADS on September 19, 2011.

According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) the Company was not in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (b) as news of the oil spills emerged, the Company concealed the extent and severity of the oil spills; (c) as news of the oil spills emerged, the Company downplayed its responsibility to effect the cleanup of the oil spills as it portrayed itself as being the "non-operator" of the oilfield; (d) the Company improperly accounted for its contingent liabilities in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; and (e) based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company's operations and its expected oil production.

If you purchased this company's shares during the Class Period and suffered a loss or for further information about the case, please review the links below.