China's CNOOC reports record 2022 profits, double previous year

China’s CNOOC more than doubled its net profit in 2022, benefiting from a year of elevated international oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The company, one of China’s three largest state-controlled oil and gas companies, posted a record consolidated net profit of 141.7 billion yuan (S$27.3billion), a dramatic increase on last year’s figure of 70.32 billion yuan, according to a company filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday (Mar 29).

Total oil and gas output stood at 624 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), representing a 8.9 per cent increase on last year’s figure of 573 million boe.

CNOOC has targeted a record 650 million to 660 million boe for this year. It is aiming for 6 per cent average annual production growth by 2025 when output is forecast to hit 2 million boe a day.

Historically one of the industry’s lower-cost explorers and producers, the company’s all-in production cost was at US$30.39 per barrel last year, versus US$29.49 per barrel in 2021.

Consolidated capex was 100.36 billion yuan, up 14.6 per cent on the previous year.

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CNOOC is a top contributor to China’s domestic oil production as state-owned oil companies tackle geologically more complex and more costly resources to counter a steep decline at mature basins.

The company continues to explore new reserves, reporting 18 commercial discoveries this year and yielding a reserve replacement ratio of 182 per cent.

Net proven reserve stood at about 6.24 billion boe by end-2022, maintaining reserve life of more than 10 years for the last six consecutive years.

The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares are up 17.4 per cent this year. REUTERS