According to the reports and surveys, parts of the Sea appeared to be great in oil potential, especially in areas adjacent to southern Vietnamese coast, south and southwest of the Spratlys, and off the southern coast of China between Taiwan and Hainan
• According to the Ministry of Geological Resources and Mining of China, the Sea may contain 17.7 billion tons of crude oil (compared to Kuwait with 13 billion tons)
• The energy potential could be the fourth largest reserve bed in the world