Offshore oil producer sees profits sink

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) reported slower net profit growth in 2006, held back by higher production costs and and a profit tax that offset higher oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reported. Chairman Fu Chengyu, however, said the company may beat its target output this year. His comments came just two months after the company announced output targets similar to last year. In 2006, CNOOC produced 167 million barrels of oil equivalent of crude oil and gas, higher than the 155 million it produced in 2005 but lower than the 168-70 million target. Meanwhile, China's largest oil company, China Natonal Petroleum Corp, announced the creation of a new supervisory department, the newspaper reported separately. The announcement comes after an alleged insider-trading case linked to the largest overseas oil acquisition. CNPC's subsidiaries paid US$7.5 million to a Canadian securities regulator after an insider-trading probe linked to the US$4.18 billion takeover of Petro Kazakhstan in 2005.