OREANDA-NEWS. November 01, 2012. CNOOC Limited (the “Company”, NYSE: CEO, SEHK: 00883) is pleased to announce its results for the third quarter of 2012, reported the press-centre of CNOOC.

The Company achieved a total net production of 87.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) for the third quarter of the year, primarily attributable to the production contribution from the new projects and new development wells, the continuous improvement of overseas production and the stable performance of producing oil and gas fields. The Company expects the annual production volume to reach 335-345 million BOE primarily due to the strong growth momentum of the fourth quarter.

During the period, the Company made eight successful appraisal wells in offshore China. The appraisal confirmed that Kenli 9-1 and Dongfang 13-2 are mid and large-sized discoveries, respectively.

Having benefited from the oil and gas production growth, the total unaudited oil and gas sales revenues of the Company reached approximately RMB48.44 billion for the third quarter of 2012, representing an increase of 4.7% year over year (YOY). In this period, the Company’s average realized oil price decreased 6.5% YOY to USD 104.74 per barrel while the Company’s average realized gas price increased 12.5% YOY to USD 5.83 per thousand cubic feet.

In this quarter, the Company's capital expenditure was approximately RMB15.0 billion, representing an increase of 46.7% YOY, primarily due to the busy development projects and extensive exploration activities.

Mr. Li Fanrong, CEO of the Company commented, “I am very pleased to witness that our company has achieved net production growth in the third quarter. In exploration area, we drilled 8 successful appraisal wells to further enhance the reserve and production growth in the future. In view of the above achievements, we are fully confident to accomplish the annual key operating statistics of the Company.”