CNOOC Posts Record‑High Half‑Year Results Amid Volatile Global Oil Markets

China National Offshore Oil Corporation Limited unveiled its interim‑period financial figures for 2026 on 26 August. Against a backdrop of shifting international conditions and wide‑swinging crude‑oil prices, the group strengthened operational co‑ordination across its production portfolio, delivering record half‑year readings for output and profit.

Oil and gas sales revenue reached RMB 206.1 billion in the first six months of the year, marking a 20 per‑cent year‑on‑year rise. Attributable net profit stood at RMB 85.8 billion, an increase of 23.4 per cent and setting a new half‑year benchmark. Unit‑cost per barrel of oil equivalent came in at USD 29.7, retaining solid competitive advantages on cost management.

Resource‑hunting activities moved forward to reinforce the company’s hydrocarbon asset base. Four new discoveries were secured, alongside successful appraisal work on 16 hydrocarbon‑bearing structures. New finds such as Luda‑16‑1 and Qinhuangdao‑30‑3 emerged in the Bohai Sea, whilst the appraisal of Kenli‑10‑6 demonstrated promising exploration potential within untapped geological zones and stratigraphic layers. The Enping‑11‑1 discovery opens prospects for rapid field development by leveraging existing offshore infrastructure. Appraisal success at Wenchang‑19‑3 delivered a major exploration breakthrough within buried volcanic‑hill formations across the Pearl River Mouth Basin. Overseas exploration portfolios expanded through three new blocks in Brazil and Indonesia. For the first time, the corporation obtained a pre‑salt block within Brazil’s Santos Basin in an operator capacity.

Core‑business operations advanced with improved development efficiency for oil‑and‑gas fields. Net production totalled 398.7 million barrels of oil equivalent over the half‑year, up 3.7 per cent year‑on‑year, with output growth recorded both domestically and overseas. Five new assets commenced production, covering redevelopment phases at Penglai‑19‑3, the western block of Weizhou‑10‑3, comprehensive adjustment works for Huizhou‑25‑8, and Brazil’s Buzios 8. Capacity‑building programmes proceed with heightened speed and operational effectiveness. Refined reservoir management curbs natural decline rates across producing offshore assets and supports higher recovery factors to stabilise mature‑field output. Adjustment wells and targeted intervention operations are implemented in sequence to unlock further production volumes.

Technological innovation underpins industrial upgrading and strengthens core operational capabilities. Focus is placed on deep‑water and deep‑stratum exploration domains, with theoretical frameworks for efficient hydrocarbon discovery continuously refined. Key technologies for reserve expansion and production growth deliver tangible outcomes; daily drilling efficiency hits an all‑time high, and advances in extended‑reach offshore‑well technology broaden the scope of recoverable reserves. A scenario‑mapping framework for the “Digital‑Intelligent CNOOC” initiative has been formulated, and the “Haineng‑Zhiqing” digital‑intelligence platform is deployed to underpin smart‑oil‑field construction. An intelligent injection‑production linkage scenario for offshore‑field operations was selected as a high‑value use case at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference. Rising unmanned‑operation ratios across offshore platforms drive efficiency gains and cost reductions.

Parallel progress is achieved for clean hydrocarbon output and new‑energy deployment to deliver low‑carbon transition. Clean‑production measures are rolled out, including expanded green‑power access via shore‑power projects and enhanced associated‑gas recovery. Integration between oil‑and‑gas operations and renewables moves ahead. China’s first tension‑leg floating‑wind‑power platform, Haiyou Anlanhao, has been connected to the grid, set to supply 54 million kWh of renewable electricity annually to offshore oil‑field facilities. Construction work for the deep‑sea‑wind‑demonstration project CZ7 moves forward in orderly fashion. China’s first offshore‑based CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage) installation is now fully operational.

Full‑year production guidance is set between 780 million and 800 million barrels of oil equivalent, with capital expenditure projected within the RMB 112 billion‑122 billion range.