CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and gas producer, on Thursday said its net profit fell by 12.2% from a year earlier in the third quarter, amid a decline in oil prices.
CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, reported a third-quarter net profit of $4.6 billion (32.4 billion Chinese yuan) for the July-September quarter, down by 12.2% on the year.
The lower Brent crude prices this year couldn’t offset the rise in CNOOC’s oil and gas production in China and abroad.
For the January to September period, CNOOC’s net production rose by 6.7% from a year earlier to 578.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), with natural gas output jumping by 11.6%.
Net production from China increased by 8.6% to 400.8 million boe, thanks to the production contribution from oil and gas fields such as Shenhai-1 Phase II Natural Gas Development Project and Bozhong 19-2.
This year, CNOOC launched production of heavy crude from its Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project in the southern Bohai Sea offshore China.
CNOOC’s net production from overseas also increased in the first nine months of 2025, by 2.6% from last year, driven by production contribution from projects in Brazil.
Similarly to all other state majors in China, CNOOC is boosting domestic oil and gas production and exploration per orders by the Chinese authorities who seek to reduce China’s dependence on imported oil and gas.
CNOOC has managed to post record high production in recent years, with an all-time high output in 2024, and another record-high expected this year.
Outside China, CNOOC is a minority partner in many major offshore developments, including in the Exxon-led consortium that has found more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalents offshore Guyana and is currently the only producing consortium in the South American country.
In August, Guyana’s oil producing capacity jumped to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) after ExxonMobil launched production from Yellowtail, the fourth oil development in the prolific offshore Stabroek block.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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