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The Husky Energy tower in Calgary.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Taiwan's state oil supplier CPC Corp. and Canada's Husky Energy Inc. will jointly invest in a project to explore gas reserves off the island's southwest coast, the Taiwan company said Wednesday.

CPC Corp. will hold a 25-per-cent stake during the initial period but can double the stake if the exploration discovers any commercially viable gas fields, according to a seven-year contract.

"We chose Husky because it is a very experienced company and has advanced gas exploration techniques," a CPC spokeswoman said.

The area, covering 10,300 square kilometres, is located off Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city and the biggest city in the island's south.

CPC supplies about 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day, or about 60 per cent of Taiwan's daily crude demand, of which only one per cent is produced by itself and the rest is imported.

Taiwan does not have any oil resources of its own and is dependent on imports mainly from the Middle East and Africa.

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