China’s CNOOC more than doubled its first-half profit, helped by higher oil and gas prices, the offshore oil and gas producer reported on Thursday, reports Nikkei Asia. Interim net income rose 116% to RMB 71.89 billion ($10.5 billion) while revenue rose 75.6% to RMB 176.7 billion. Oil prices have soared this year, coming close to $147 a barrel in March after Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine spurred supply fears.
CNOOC’s net oil and gas production hit a record 304.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), up 9.6% on the year, 71% of which came from domestic operations. The firm is a top contributor to China’s domestic oil production as national giants tackle geologically more complex and more costly resources to counter a steep decline at mature basins.
Its domestic net output rose 12.5% to 216.8 million BOE, thanks to large projects such as deep-water gas field Shenhai-1 in the South China Sea, Bozhong 19-4 in Bohai Bay in northern China as well as coal seam gas development in northern China.
