In 1979 bhp was a member of the first foreign consortium to sign a production sharing contract to explore for oil in the south china sea . a bhp petroleum office was established in guangzhou in 1983 in support of this activity 1979年, bhp是签署《生产分配合约》以开发中国南海石油的首批国外联盟成员之一。为支持这一行动, bhp于1983年在广州成立了bhp石油办事处。