REUTERS - Offshore oil driller Seadrill (SDRL.OL) plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late June or early July to catch the rising wave of rig market activity, its chief executive told said on Wednesday.

BLOOMBERG - Vietnam’s state-owned oil company said South China Sea tensions will hurt oil and gas exploration and efforts to attract foreign investment to offshore fields.

REUTERS - Any deal between the Philippines and a Chinese firm to jointly explore for gas in the Reed Bank of the South China Sea will be illegal unless China recognizes the southeast Asian nation’s sovereign rights there, a Philippine judge said on Monday.

OGJ - Phase II production from Weizhou 12-2 oil field has been brought on stream, CNOOC Ltd. said of its project in Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea is a major route for liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, and in 2016, almost 40% of global LNG trade, or about 4.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), passed through the South China Sea.

Seadrill, one of the world’s largest offshore drilling companies, filed for bankruptcy after it secured agreement from nearly all of its banks to support a plan to inject $1bn in new capital and all but wipe out existing shareholders.

Vietnam has extended an Indian oil concession in the South China Sea and begun drilling in another area it disputes with China in moves that could heighten tensions over who owns what in the vital maritime region.

China's attempt to test marine natural gas hydrates, a future energy source, has turned out to be a success, making it the first country to secure continuous and stable gas supply in marine gas hydrate exploitation, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.

China claims almost all of a large stretch of sea between Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Japan. The trouble is, between them, these seven other states all do too.

Comprehensive restructuring plan will require a substantial impairment or conversion of our bonds, as well as impairment, losses or substantial dilution for other stakeholders. As a result, the Company currently expects that shareholders are likely to receive minimal recovery for their existing shares.