Quartz | The South China Sea's untapped oil and natural gas are back in focus Quartz The contested South China Sea has large deposits of oil and natural gas. Perhaps luckily for the environment, drilling for these resources has been discouraged by political tension among nations in the region. In particular, energy companies worry ... China urges halt to oil drilling in disputed South China Sea Alarming Escalation in the South China Sea: China Threatens Force if Vietnam Continues Oil Exploration in Spratlys |