What’s new: State oil giant CNOOC Ltd. won approval from China’s top securities regulator for a $5.5 billion domestic share sale as the company also reported a record profit amid the global oil price surge.
Hong Kong-traded CNOOC plans to sell as many as 299 million new shares in an initial public offering in Shanghai to raise about 35 billion yuan ($5.5 billion). Proceeds will be used for global project development including oil and gas fields in Guangdong and Guyana, the company said Wednesday at its earnings briefing.
China’s biggest offshore driller posted record 2021 net profit of 70.3 billion yuan, up 182% year-on-year, reflecting soaring oil prices and rising production. The company’s oil and gas sales rose 59% to 222.1 billion yuan.
CNOOC’s oil and gas production in 2021 touched a record 573 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 8.5% from the previous year.
The context: Global oil prices averaged $71 a barrel last year, up from $43 in 2020, as the world economy recovered from the pandemic. CNOOC said its average sales price reached $67.89 per barrel, a 65.7% year-on-year increase.
CNOOC has been planning a domestic share sale since 2021 after it was delisted from stock exchanges in New York and Toronto due to U.S. sanctions over the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese military.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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