CNOOC says buys stake in Statoil's Mexico assets

HONG KONG, Nov 5 (Reuters) - CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) said on Thursday it agreed to buy a minority stake in four prospects in the Gulf of Mexico from Norway's Statoil (STL.OL), opening crude oil reserves in the U.S. Gulf to China for the first time.

CNOOC will have a 10 percent to 20 percent interest in the four exploration areas, CNOOC spokesman Xiao Zongwei told Reuters.

But the production timetable could not be confirmed as the areas would require a relatively long exploration period, he added.

Statoil said in its results on Wednesday that it signed a farm down agreement with CNOOC on Oct 29 involving a number of Statoil's leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

Both companies would not disclose the price tag for the deal, but analysts estimate it could be worth up to $80 million. (Reporting by Alison Lui; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)