Major oil companies see rising net profit, revenue last year

China's oil majors recorded rising net profit and revenue last year, benefiting from rising energy prices.

PetroChina Co's net income rose to 92 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in 2021, more than quadrupling the level from the previous year, according to its annual earnings release. Oil and gas production rose 3.4 percent. Capital expenditure will likely be 242 billion yuan in 2022, compared to 251 billion yuan in 2021, it said.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the country's largest oil refiner, said its net profit stood at 72 billion yuan in 2021, up 115.2 percent from the previous year. Its operating revenue reached 2.74 trillion yuan last year, up 30.2 percent year-on-year, the company said.

China National Offshore Oil Corp said its net profit last year hit a record thanks to continued growth of reserves and production, as the company has "seized the favorable opportunity of the rebound of global oil prices to vigorously develop its main business sector and sharpen its advantages".

Net profit of the company, the country's top offshore oil and gas producer, rose to 70.3 billion yuan in 2021, up 181.7 percent year-on-year, with basic earnings per share reaching 1.57 yuan, the highest level ever, it was announced at the company's 2021 annual results conference on Wednesday.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has also approved the A-share listing application of CNOOC Ltd.

The commission said in a statement on Wednesday that the oil company can issue no more than 2.99 billion shares in its domestic flotation. The company should also strictly follow its prospectus as well as its issuance and underwriting plan.

The company's annual oil and gas sales revenue reached 222.1 billion yuan last year, representing an increase of 59.1 percent year-on-year.

With continuous breakthroughs in reserves and production growth, its oil and gas sales revenue also surged. The annual average realized oil price was $67.89 per barrel last year, up 65.7 percent year-on-year. The average realized natural gas price was $6.95 per thousand cubic feet, up 12.6 percent year-on-year, it said.

The company made 22 commercial discoveries last year, including four medium-to-large sized oil and gas fields off the coast of China, including the Kenli 10-2 oilfield in southern Bohai Bay with an average water depth of about 15.7 meters, and six overseas ones in Stabroek Block, Guyana.

Total recoverable resources of Stabroek Block have exceeded 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent and net proven reserves stand at 5.73 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The reserve replacement ratio reached 162 percent, and the reserve life remained above 10 years, it said.

Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF, said the company's record production volume of 573 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2021 and output target for 2022, which is set to grow by 4.9-6.6 percent yearly to reach 600-610 million barrels of oil equivalent, are welcome news as current geopolitical tensions have spurred a rally in oil and gas prices and demand.

According to CNOOC, 14 of the company's new projects were brought onstream last year, including the commissioning of Shenhai-1, an ultra deepwater large gas field, which will support the construction of a major gas production area of 1 trillion cubic meters of resources in the South China Sea.

Bohai-based oilfields also became the largest crude oil production base in China last year, with annual net production reaching a record 573 million barrels of oil equivalent, it said.

Wang Dongjin, chairman of the company, said CNOOC will continuously adapt to future macroeconomic trends while staying committed to its core values and actively expanding new financing channels.

Wang said the company's operating results reached the best level in history as the company has been actively responding to external challenges, striving to make progress while maintaining stable operations.

The company said it will continue to implement an innovation-driven strategy and reinforce research into core technologies after its Shenhai Yihao platform, the world's first deepwater semisubmersible oil production and storage platform with 100,000-ton storage capacity, earned three world-class innovations and made a number of breakthroughs in core technology research last year.

Construction of its Dongfang smart gas fields also supported cost reductions and efficiency enhancement, while its Enping oilfields achieved remote-controlled production capability during typhoons－both developments represent significant progress in digital transformation and intelligent development, it said.