China's offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd reported its strongest semi-annual result since the second half of 2014 as the state oil giant's cost cutting programme and higher oil crude prices boosted profits. CNOOC made 16.25 billion yuan ($2.44 billion) in profit for the first half of 2017, beating the median of analysts forecasts of 5.7 billion yuan ($855.57 million), and up from net losses of 7.73 billion yuan ($1.16 billion) for the same period last year.
Revenue jumped 38 percent from a year ago to 92.36 billion yuan ($13.86 billion), the highest level since second half of 2014. Oil and gas sales rose 36 percent to 74.9 billion yuan. Global oil prices more than doubled in the first half of 2017 from the same period a year ago, benefiting oil majors. However, they have remained near $50 a barrel, about half of what they were in mid-2014. "International oil prices may continue to hover at a low level for an extended period," CNOOC said in a statement.
CNOOC, which ranks among the world's most competitive producers in term of production costs, said its all-in cost dropped 9 percent from a year ago to $31.74 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe). That is significantly lower than current crude prices of $52 a barrel. First-half output was 237.9 million boe, 52 percent of its full-year target of between 450 million and 460 million boe, it said. Oil and liquids output fell 2.1 percent to 198.2 million barrels, while natural gas output rose 1.6 percent to 231.4 billion cubic feet.