Cnooc Ltd. (CEO), China 's third-largest oil company by assets, is aiming for compound annual production growth of 6% to 10% between 2011 to 2015, it said Tuesday.

In the first quarter of this year Cnooc "made significant progress in exploration, particularly by obtaining a mid- to large-sized new oil discovery and successful appraisal of a large oil field in Bohai. I believe these achievements will strongly support our production-growth target," Chief Executive Li Fanrong said in a statement.

And, according to the average forecast of 32 analysts surveyed by ThomsonReuters, Beijing-based Cnooc's 2012 net profit will rise slightly to CNY70.50 billion from 2011's CNY70.26 billion.

Cnooc, China's biggest offshore oil and gas producer by output, said earlier Tuesday first-quarter revenue rose 3.7% on year thanks to higher international crude-oil prices. The result was also in spite of a decline in output because of the shutdown of its Bohai Bay field in northeast China in September.

Cnooc's oil and gas revenue for the three months ended March 31 rose to CNY48.84 billion (US$7.75 billion) from CNY47.08 billion as the price of North Sea Brent rose about 12% in the first quarter. The company didn't give a net profit figure for the period.

Cnooc, a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp., said it produced 79.8 million barrels of oil equivalent during the quarter, down 6.3% from 85.4 million barrels because it halted production at the Penglai 19-3 field last year.

Following a partial shutdown last summer, the Chinese government in early September ordered a complete halt in production at Penglai. The field produced an average 56,000 barrels a day in 2010.

The average selling price of its crude oil jumped 19.4% to US$120.79 a barrel over the same period as international oil prices strengthened, the company said.

Capital expenditure in the first quarter rose 58% to CNY9.64 billion from CNY6.09 billion as the company made five new discoveries and drilled five offshore appraisal wells in China , it said.

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