Despite lower international oil prices, Chinese state-held oil and gas giant CNOOC reported on Monday its highest-ever profit for the third quarter, on the back of record oil and gas production.
CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, booked a net profit of $5.2 billion (36.93 billion Chinese yuan) for the third quarter, up by 9% compared to the same period of 2023.
CNOOC focuses on oil and gas exploration and production and, unlike the other major Chinese state-owned oil giants such as PetroChina, it has much lower exposure to the refining sector, which has weighed this year on company profits amid weak refining margins and fuel demand.
The rise in CNOOC’s net profit was mostly attributed to record-high production and cost controls, more than offsetting weaker oil prices on international markets, which have reflected weaker Chinese oil demand than previously expected.
For the first nine months of the year, CNOOC boosted its net profit by 19.5% and revenues by 6.3% despite the decline in Brent crude prices, which averaged 8% lower in Q3 compared to a year earlier.
In the first three quarters of the year, “Under the same international oil prices, our net production and net profit have significantly increased, both reaching historic highs for the same periods in history,” CNOOC said.
Net production rose by 8.5% year-over-year to 542.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), with output in China up by 6.8% to 369.2 million boe, mainly due to the production contribution from oil and gas fields such as Bozhong 19-6 and Enping 20-4.
CNOOC’s net production from overseas increased by 12.2% to 172.9 million boe, thanks to the production ramp-up at the Payara project in Guyana, where CNOOC is a partner of ExxonMobil and Hess in the development of the prolific Stabroek block.
CNOOC is contributing to the Chinese government’s plan to raise domestic oil and gas production. Between January and September, the company launched production at seven new projects offshore China.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
