OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2011. China Oilfield Services Ltd. (2883), a unit of the nation’s largest offshore oil producer, posted a 32 percent increase in profit as its biggest customer Cnooc Ltd. (883) expanded exploration to meet growing domestic demand.

Net income rose to 4.13 billion yuan (USD 631 million), or 0.9184 yuan a share, from 3.14 billion yuan, or 0.6975 yuan, the previous year, the Beijing-based company said in a statement today. That compares with the 4.04 billion-yuan mean estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 15 analysts.

Cnooc, a unit of state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Corp., beat its target of increasing output by as much as 28 percent last year as it opened new oilfields off the coast of China. Sales at China Oilfield dropped 1.8 percent to 17.6 billion yuan, according to the statement.

“High oil prices and increasing global demand for oil and gas resources will motivate oil companies for more investments in exploration and development activities,” it said in statement.

China Oilfield expects capital expenditure to reach 4.72 billion yuan this year, the company said Jan. 27.

Cnooc plans to commence four offshore Chinese projects this year, the company said in January. It was awarded a contract for as many as five years for its COSLPIONEER rig with Statoil ASA, the company said in December.

China Oilfield’s shares fell 0.1 percent to HKD16.08 before the earnings statement and are down 8 percent this year, compared with a 2 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

China’s economy grew 10.3 percent last year, the fastest pace in three years, boosting demand for energy. Vehicle sales including cars, trucks and buses rose 32 percent in 2010, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.