SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Chinese offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd, reported on Monday a 9% increase in third-quarter net income versus a year earlier, as higher oil and gas output offset lower realised oil prices.
Net profit during the July to September period was 36.93 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), versus 33.88 billion yuan a year earlier, CNOOC said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Its revenue fell 13.5% on the year to 99.25 billion yuan. The state-run company’s reported realised oil price for the July-September period was 8.2% lower at $76.41 a barrel versus a year earlier.
CNOOC’s total net oil and gas production rose 7% on the year to 179.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) during the third quarter.
Between January and September, net production from China expanded by 6.8% on the year to 369.2 million boe, thanks to growth in the Bozhong 19-6 field offshore north China and Enping 20-4 field in the South China Sea.
Overseas production rose by 12.2% to 172.9 million boe, owing to the start-up of the Payara project in Guyana.
The company said in August it aimed to pump a record 700 million to 720 million barrels of oil equivalent for 2024, or 3% to 6% above the level of last year.
Capital spending was at 32.2 billion yuan for the quarter, down 2.2% on the year, and totalled 95.3 billion yuan for the first nine months of the year, up 6.6% over the same period of 2023.
It has targeted annual capital expenditure at 125 billion yuan to 135 billion yuan, versus last year’s 129.6 billion.
CNOOC’s Hong Kong-listed shares have gained about 44% year to date, outperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index that has risen nearly 21%.
($1 = 7.1285 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Emeia Sithole-Matarise)
