(WO) — CNOOC Limited produced a record 398.7 MMboe in the first half of 2026, up 3.7% year over year, as new offshore projects and exploration gains supported production growth in China and overseas.
The company maintained its full-year production target of 780–800 MMboe and a 2026 capital expenditure budget of RMB 112–122 billion.
CNOOC made four new discoveries and successfully appraised 16 oil- and gas-bearing structures during the first half. In Bohai Bay, the company discovered Luda 16-1 and Qinhuangdao 30-3 and successfully appraised Kenli 10-6.
In the South China Sea, CNOOC made the Enping 11-1 discovery, which the company said could be fast-tracked using existing infrastructure. The successful appraisal of Wenchang 19-3 also marked an exploration breakthrough in volcanic buried-hill plays in the Pearl River Mouth basin.
Internationally, CNOOC expanded its exploration portfolio with three blocks in Brazil and Indonesia. The company also acquired its first operated exploration block in Brazil’s pre-salt Santos basin.
Five new projects were brought online during the first half, including the Penglai 19-3 Oilfield 1/2/3/8/9 Area Secondary Adjustment Project, Weizhou 10-3 Oilfield West Area Development Project, Huizhou 25-8 Oilfield Comprehensive Adjustment Project and Buzios 8 in Brazil.
CNOOC said reservoir management, adjustment wells and workover operations also helped control natural decline rates at producing offshore fields and add incremental production. Daily drilling efficiency reached a record high during the period, while advances in extended-reach drilling expanded accessible offshore reserves.
The company’s all-in production cost was $29.70/boe.
Oil and gas sales revenue rose 20% year over year to RMB 206.1 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders increased 23.4% to a record RMB 85.8 billion for the first-half period.
“In the second half of the year, we will spare no effort to increase reserves and production [and] intensify research on core technologies,” CNOOC Chairman Zhang Chuanjiang said.
CNOOC said it will continue advancing new projects and exploration activity during the second half as it works toward its full-year production and capital spending targets.
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