Cnooc Ltd. (CEO), China's
biggest offshore oil and gas producer by output, Wednesday reported a 29%
increase in 2011 net profit because of higher oil prices, though it set a
conservative production output target this year following the shutdown of its
Bohai Bay oil field in northeast China in September.
The company is targeting a compound annual production growth rate of 6%-10%
from 2011 to 2015 on the back of a combination of regional development
projects, the use of enhanced recovery techniques at existing oil fields
offshore China, as well as from deep-water projects.
"The company will continue to pursue value-driven acquisition strategies
in order to create more room for reserve and production development,"
Chairman Wang Yilin said in a statement.
Net profit for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 was CNY70.26 billion (US$11.2
billion), up from CNY54.41 billion the previous year. It was slightly above the
average CNY69.50 billion net profit forecast of 33 analysts polled earlier by
Thomson Reuters.
Revenue rose 34% to CNY240.94 billion from CNY180.04 billion as the average
selling price of its crude oil jumped 41% to US$109.75 a barrel from US$77.93
in 2010.
Cnooc, a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp., China's third-largest oil
company by assets, said it is targeting production of 330 million-340 million
barrels of oil equivalent in 2012, not far off the 331.8 million BOE it
produced in 2011, it said.
In 2012, the company plans to drill 114 exploration wells, focusing on offshore
Chinese fields, especially deep-water areas of the South China Sea, with four
projects offshore China expected to come onstream this year.
Foreign fields, including the Long Lake oil sands project in Canada and the
Missan oil field in Iraq, are also expected to contribute to added production.
Cnooc expects to increase total capex this year by 45%-71% to US$9.3
billion-US$11 billion, and is targeting a reserve-replacement ratio in excess
of 100%.
In August, the company revised downward its 2011 annual production target by up
to 6.8% as a result of oil spills in the Bohai Bay as well as a failure to
secure an increased stake in an Argentina project it is involved in.
The company proposed a final dividend of HK$0.28, up from HK$0.25 a year
earlier.