CNOOC books $11.1bn net profit in 2021
CNOOC revealed March 30 it had generated a 70.3bn yuan ($11.1bn) net profit in 2021, up 181.7% year/year and the "best" result in its history.
Annual net production also reached a record high of 573mn barrels of oil equivalent as the Chinese major brought on stream 14 new projects. Among the new commissions was the Shenhai 1 ultra-deep water gas field in South China Sea, along with the Dongfang "intelligent" gas fields, which use advanced technology to meet CNOOC's cost reduction and efficiency goals.
CNOOC said the upshot was better cost performance, at a time when hydrocarbon prices are rising. The "all-in" cost of production amounted to $29.49/boe and operational expenditure was $7.83/boe, while the average realised natural gas price climbed by an annual 12.6% to $6.95/1,000 ft3.
The company has targeted net production of 600 to 610mn boe in 2022, with 69% of that share to be extracted from Chinese oil and gas fields, according to its 2022 business strategy and development plan. In terms of capital expenditure, CNOOC expects to invest 90 to 100bn yuan, 20% of which will be allocated to upstream exploration projects.
A further 13 oil and gas fields backed by CNOOC will launch this year, including the domestic Shenfu South gas field and the 3M gas project in Indonesia. In total, CNOOC expects to drill 227 exploration wells, of which 132 will be onshore unconventional probes. It will also acquire around 17,000 km of 3D seismic imaging data.