CNOOC looks to increase output after disappointing 2011

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC; CEO.NYSE, 883.HKG) said that it is looking to increase production by 6-10% for the five-year period ending in 2015, Bloomberg reported. The firm, which is China’s largest producer of offshore oil and gas, will increase capital spending by as much as 63% this year to begin new deepwater fields, purchase assets and further develop unconventional energy, said CEO Li Fanrong. The aim is for the company to produce 330-340 million barrel-equivalents of oil in 2012, up 2.7% from 2011. Output for last year was at the low end of its already lowered target due to an oil leak off China’s northern coast and a failed acquisition in Argentina. “CNOOC needs to step up overseas acquisitions if it wants to elevate its production growth toward 10%,” said Wu Fei, a Hong Kong-based analyst at BOCOM International Holdings.