CNOOC's third-quarter revenue falls almost a third on low oil prices

[BEIJING] China's top offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd said its third-quarter unaudited sales revenue from oil and gas fell 32.3 percent on low oil prices as its average realized oil price declined by 51 percent to US$48.84 a barrel.

The company reported sales of 36.25 billion yuan (S$7.96 billion) for the third quarter, compared with 53.57 billion a year earlier, according to a filing with the Hong Kong bourse. The state-controlled firm does not publish quarterly earnings.

The company said its capital expenditure fell 44.0 percent on year to roughly 14.75 billion yuan amid belt-tightening.

Net production of oil and gas for the third quarter rose 23.8 percent on year at 127.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said.

CNOOC Chief Executive Li Fanrong said in a statement on the company's website that the producer "aimed to proactively respond to the impact of low oil prices" and is "confident that we will achieve our production and operation targets for the year."

REUTERS