China CNOOC's Q3 Profit Down 8% on Yr Despite Higher Output

Chinese national offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd, on Tuesday posted an 8.13% fall in third quarter profit on lower realised oil prices despite higher output.

Net profit fell to 33.88 billion yuan ($4.64 billion), CNOOC said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

The listed arm of state-backed CNOOC Group reported a 5.5% year-on-year increase in revenue to 114.8 billion yuan.

Global oil prices have fallen since last year, having spiked in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though prices for key benchmarks Brent and WTI did rise steadily through much of the third quarter. 

The company's reported realized oil price for the July-September period was 13% lower at $83.2 versus a year earlier. 

CNOOC's total net oil and gas production rose 7% on the year to 167.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) during the third quarter. 

Between January and September, net production from China gained 6.7% on the year to 345.5 million boe, while overseas production grew by nearly 12% to 154.1 million boe, thanks to production growth from operations in Guyana and Brazil.

The company has set a production target of a record 650 million to 660 million boe for 2023, as part of its medium-term goal of a 6% increase in average annual production by 2025.

Maintaining its status as one of the world's most cost-efficient producers, all-in production costs for the first three quarters were $28.37 per barrel, down 6.3% on the same period last year.

Capital spending stood at 32.95 billion yuan, up 21.5% from year-earlier level, and totaled 89.5 billion yuan for the first 9 months of the year, up 30% on the year.

In March CNOOC said it planned to increase capex to 100 billion-110 billion yuan for 2023 from 100 billion yuan last year as it targets further development of nine projects and a reserve replacement ratio of greater than 130%.

Its Hong Kong-listed share has gained 34.5% year to date versus a fall of 14% of the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI. 

($1 = 7.3082 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reuters - Reporting by Chen Aizhu in Singapore and Andrew Hayley in Beijing; editing by David Evans)

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