CNOOC eyes chain of electric car battery stations

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) may set up a countrywide network of stations for charging electric car batteries, the Wall Street Journal writes. Shan Lianwen, corporate strategy director at CNOOC, said the success of the idea depended on a number of factors including the popularity of electric cars across China, high petrol prices that would force people to invest in the new alternative, and also manufacturers’ capability of producing quality batteries at low prices. In July, CNOOC invested 5 billion yuan (US$732.18 million) in a joint production project with Tianjin Lishen Battery to make batteries. (November 4, 2009)