CNOOC withdraws Unocal takeover bid: Report

China?s CNOOC has given up its US$18.5 billion offer to take over U.S. oil producer Unocal Corp in the face of strong opposition from U.S. Congress, the Japanese mass daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported in its Friday evening edition.

In a report from Beijing, Yomiuri quoted an unnamed CNOOC official in charge of foreign investment as telling the paper in an interview, ?We will no longer consider a Unocal takeover.?

CNOOC spokesman Ray Bashford told Reuters he was not aware of the Yomiuri report and said CNOOC's $67 a share offer for Unocal remains effective. (*)