NRG AsianOil: CNOOC Ltd aims to boost production this year

State-run Chinese offshore developer CNOOC Ltd has announced plans to boost its oil and gas production by 3-5% this year as it seeks to bring on stream several new fields both at home and abroad.
The listed arm of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) aims to produce 545-555mn barrels of oil equivalent in 2021, up from a projected 528mn boe in 2020, the company said in a February 4 filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx).
Around 68% of this year’s production is expected to come from domestic fields, with the remaining 32% of output deriving from the company’s foreign assets.
CNOOC Ltd intends to spend CNY90-100bn ($13.96-15.51bn) this year in order to meet its production target, noting that exploration, development and production would respectively receive around 17%, 61% and 20% of its total capital expenditure for 2021. The company aims to drill 217 exploration wells this year as well as acquire around 17,000 square km of 3D seismic data.
CNOOC Ltd expects to bring 19 new projects on line this year, with the company highlighting such domestic projects as the Lingshui 17-2 gas field, Lufeng oilfield development and Caofeidian 6-4 oilfield. As for developments overseas, CNOOC also said it intended to bring on stream the second phase of the UK’s Buzzard oilfield as well as the Mero I oilfield in Brazil.
Since announcing its 2021 development plans, the company has already taken a significant step towards the launch of the Lingshui 17-2 deepwater project. The company oversaw the arrival of 100,000-tonne semi-submersible production and storage facility to the field on February 7, China’s state-run Xinhua newswire has reported.
The Deep Sea No.1 set off from the coast of Shandong Province on January 14 before arriving at the Lingshui 17-2 field, which lies off Hainan. The deputy general manager of CNOOC's Lingshui 17-2 project, Liu Kongzhong, told Xinhua that the facility was anticipated to become operational in June.