52 IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON The crucial point, and the one that Fu had failed to grasp fully when CNOOC approached the deal in the first place, was that in the climate that existed just four years after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the mere suggestion of a threat to U.S. national security would be sufficient to slow the bureaucratic process long enough to give Chevron the advantage it needed. Chevron was playing hardball, and CNOOC was only beginning to understand how the game was played. CNOOC WITHDRAWS, CHEVRON WINS Although Unocal's board was beginning to lean toward Chevron's offer, Chevron made no effort to put a halt to Unocal's negotiations with CNOOC, which continued to try to win over Unocal's board. On July 19, 2005, Chevron increased its offer to $63.01 per Unocal share. That raised Chevron's overall offer to $17.8 billion.