CHINA’S CNOOC Ltd. set its 2022 production target at 10 percent above last year’s goal, while expects its domestic crude oil output to hit a plateau by 2030 and domestic natural gas by 2035 in line with China’s peak fuel demand.

The offshore oil and gas producer targeted a record output at 600 million-610 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) for this year, versus 545 million-555 million boe in 2021.

CNOOC beat its goal last year by producing an estimated 570 million boe, the Hong Kong-listed company said Tuesday.

CNOOC forecasts its domestic crude oil output to hit a peak of 60 million tons by 2030 and natural gas output to cap at 40 billion cubic meters by 2035.

Xu Keqiang, chief executive officer of CNOOC, told reporters on a conference call that the estimates were made based on oil and gas demand, climate change targets and the energy security situation in China.

China vowed to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, but said energy security must be considered amid those efforts.

One of the industry’s lowest-cost producer, CNOOC plans to hold its capital spending for 2022 steady from a year ago at 90 billion yuan-100 billion yuan (US$15.70 billion). That compares with a record set in 2014 of 105 billion yuan-120 billion yuan.

CNOOC has become the largest contributor to the rise in domestic Chinese oil production, making up 80 percent of the total national increase in 2020, domestic media reported.

Its Bohai oil cluster off northern China has overtaken Daqing to become the country;s biggest crude oil production base, with 2021 output hitting 30.132 million tons.

CNOOC’s first wholly-owned deepwater natural gas field, Lingshui 17-2 in the South China Sea, also hit its designed peak rate of 10 million cubic meters in November.

(SD-Agencies)