(Yicai) Jan. 23 -- China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the country’s largest offshore producer of crude oil and natural gas, said production will likely increase this year for the seventh in a row.

CNOOC forecast production to range from 760 million to 780 million barrels of oil equivalent this year at its annual business strategy meeting in Hong Kong yesterday.

CNOOC has set output records each year since 2019, and expects to have produced about 720 million BOE last year, surpassing the 675 million achieved in 2023. Around 69 percent of last year’s total came from domestic production, with overseas projects accounting for the rest, it said.

The Beijing-based company made predictions of 780 million to 800 million for next year and 810 million to 830 million for 2027.

Several major new projects will come on stream this year, including the first phases of the Bozhong 26-6 and Kenli 10-2 oilfields in China, as well as the Yellowtail project in Guyana and the Buzios 7 project in Brazil.

CNOOC will continue its strategy of stabilizing oil production this year, while raising gas output and gradually increasing the fuel’s weight in its product portfolio, the firm said, adding that it will also explore onshore for gas, such as deep coalbed methane and tight gas resources.

The company’s capital expenditure will be CNY125 billion to CNY135 billion (USD17.2 billion and USD18.5 billion) this year, of which development will account for 61 percent, production 20 percent, and exploration 16 percent, it said. 

That is roughly the same as last year’s CNY132 billion, Chief Executive Zhou Xinhuai said, so the company needs to effectively reduce marginal costs to meet its business target of higher oil and gas production in 2025.

With years of experience in development, exploration, and production, as well as technological progress and production management improvements, Zhou is confident that the company will succeed in 2025, he said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione