
CNOOC's Q1 profit down 7.9% on weaker oil prices, but output grows
SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - Chinese offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd's (600938.SS), opens new tab first-quarter net profit fell 7.9%, weighed by weaker oil prices but higher output helped stem the decline.
Net income for January-March reached 36.56 billion yuan ($5.03 billion), versus 39.7 billion yuan in the same period last year, according to the company's filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here.
The listed arm of the state oil giant China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), reported a 4.1% fall in revenue to 106.85 billion yuan in the first quarter thanks to higher output.
CNOOC Ltd's total net production during the period was 188.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), up 4.8% on the year.
Domestic net output grew 6.2% benefiting from major oilfields such as Bozhong 19-6 in the Bohai Bay, while output from the company's international operations rose 1.9, lifted by growing output at Brazil's Mero-2 and others.
CNOOC in January set its 2025 net production target at a record between 760 million and 780 million boe, or 5.6% to 8.3% above 2024's levels.
As one of the world's most cost-efficient offshore producers, all-in production costs for the first quarter stood at $27.03 a barrel, versus $27.59 in the corresponding period last year.
First-quarter capital spending amounted to 27.7 billion yuan, down 4.5% on the year.
($1 = 7.2673 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Rising Asia temperatures bode well for US LNG export prospects
LITTLETON, Colorado, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. exports of LNG are already at record highs so far in 2025, but forecasts for above-average temperatures across key Asian import markets could lift them even higher this summer. Average temperatures for Japan, South Korea and China are all forecast to hold above normal through the end of August, likely boosting use of power-hungry air conditioners. That higher demand load will in turn spur utilities to lift generation from all available sources, including from natural gas plants fed mainly by imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). That upbeat demand outlook is good news for U.S. LNG exporters, who are riding a wave of strong demand from Europe but face a potential slowdown in European buying this summer. Temperatures across East Asia are already hovering above long-term averages, and are expected to continue trending higher over the next two months. Average temperatures in Japan - the second largest LNG importer after China in 2024 - are expected to register around 6% above the long-term average from now through the end of August, data from LSEG shows. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and several cities in China are forecast to register similar readings. As the northern hemisphere summer coincides with the rainy season across much of Asia, the forecasted hot temperatures are likely to be mixed with high humidity levels. That in turn will likely spur heavy use of air conditioning systems, which can push power demand levels sharply higher during heatwaves and strain regional power grids. Asia's electricity producers are used to the summer climb in electricity demand and adjust output levels accordingly. In 2024, average electricity demand during June, July and August - the hottest months of the year - was around 9% above the monthly average for the year as a whole. To accommodate that higher load, utilities lifted output from all power sources, but especially from fossil fuel plants which supply power that can be dispatched on command when output from renewable sources drops off. Both gas-fired and coal-fired generation across Asia during June, July and August last year averaged around 5% more than the 2024 monthly average, Ember data shows. To feed the higher demand for power anticipated during June, July and August, Asian LNG importers tend to book higher LNG volumes during May, June and July than during other months. Between 2021 and 2024, U.S. LNG exports to Asia during May, June and July averaged around 7.8 million metric tons a month, according to data from commodity intelligence firm Kpler. That compares to an average of 2.23 million tons a month to Asia overall for the 2021 to 2024 period, and underscores how important LNG is as a power fuel during the Asian summer. A key driver of potential Asian purchases will be the price of LNG, which needs to compete with coal in power generation and has recently proved too dear for many Asian consumers. U.S. LNG export prices have averaged around $8.54 per thousand cubic feet so far in 2025, up 35% from the 2024 average, according to data from LSEG. That said, any rise in Asian LNG purchases would likely come just as LNG orders by Europe tend to retreat to their annual lows, which could apply downward pressure to prices. Over the first half of 2025, European markets accounted for 70% of all U.S. LNG exports, Kpler data shows, while Asian markets accounted for just under 20%. Average monthly volumes of U.S. LNG dispatched to Europe during January to June were around 6 million tons, compared to around 1.6 million tons a month to Asia. A key caveat that will govern Europe's LNG appetite going forward is how quickly gas storage operators there want to replenish inventories, which were depleted over the past winter and must be restocked ahead of next winter. Currently, Europe's gas stockpiles are around half full, which compares to around 70% full at this time of year in 2023 and 2024, according to LSEG. If gas storage operators opt to restock as quickly as possible, then Europe's imports of LNG could remain quite strong over the coming months. But if Europe's storage firms opt instead to wait until the autumn to replenish stocks, or refill tanks from pipelined supplies, then Europe's LNG purchase volumes could drop sharply. Such a sudden wilt in European orders would likely trigger an aggressive markdown in prices, however, and in turn lure fresh buying interest in Asia where power firms are already primed to boost output. That suggests that overall U.S. LNG export volumes should remain fairly robust for the near term at least, regardless of where the buyers reside. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.


NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
In China, fears grow of an EV financial crisis amid pricing war
At a used car market in Beijing, salesman Ma Hui said he fears China's electric vehicle industry is in a race to the bottom. EV makers, led by the country's market leader BYD, have been engaged in a bruising price war, depressing profits for the brands, as well as sellers such as Ma. 'All of us were losing money last year,' Ma said about his fellow used car sellers in the market. 'There are too many companies making too many new energy cars.' China's trading partners have often accused the country of flooding the global market with cheap Chinese EVs. These days, similar accusations are flying within China, raising concerns about financial stress in the industry. The official Communist Party paper, the People's Daily, for example, published a commentary on Monday, titled 'The 'Price War' in the Automotive Industry Leads Nowhere and Has No Future.' 'Disorderly 'price wars' squeeze profits across the chain, impacting the entire ecosystem and risking income declines for workers,' the paper warned. 'Long-term, this 'race to the bottom' competition is unsustainable.' BYD is drawing the most fire after it announced price cuts in late May for many of its models. Some of the discounts are as steep as 34%. Its cheapest car, the Seagull mini hatchback, now costs only about $7,700, down from about $10,000. The intense price war has led high-profile auto executives to sound the alarm — with the head of Great Wall Motor calling the industry 'unhealthy.' In an interview with Chinese news outlet Sina Finance on May 23, Great Wall Motor Chairman Wei Jianjun drew parallels to China's moribund property sector and its now defunct poster child, developer Evergrande. 'An 'Evergrande-like' crisis already exists in the automotive industry,' he said. 'It just hasn't erupted yet.' A government-backed industry group has also called on companies not to 'dump' vehicles below the cost of production. In a statement, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers took a veiled swipe at BYD. 'A certain automaker has taken the lead in launching significant price cuts and many companies have followed suit, triggering a new round of 'price war' panic,' the group said. BYD dismissed Wei's comment as alarmist and said it believes in fair competition in response to CAAM's criticism. In a sign of further strain, sellers at the Beijing used car market told CNBC about a phenomenon known as 'zero mileage used cars,' which is meant to help auto manufacturers and dealers inflate sales volumes. This happens when cars are registered and plated and then marked as sold, but haven't ever been driven. Ma said he is worried about where the fierce competition leads. He told CNBC he sees the impact of the intense competition on consumers who are already shy about spending in the down economy. 'With the price dropping like this, a lot of buyers might wait,' he said.


Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
BOJ to postpone rate hike to Q1 next year, tiny majority of economists say: Reuters poll
TOKYO, June 11 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will forego another interest rate hike this year due to uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy, according to a slight majority of economists in a Reuters poll who expect the next 25-basis-point increase in early 2026. Japan's central bank will slow the pace of tapering its government bond purchases from next fiscal year, a majority also said, while three in four surveyed expect the government to cut down on issuance of super-long bonds. The latest results reflect policymakers' apprehension at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies are threatening the economic outlook and as investors are increasingly concerned about Japan's public finances. The BOJ is still pushing for tighter monetary conditions, contrasting with its peers tilting for rate cuts, with its governor Kazuo Ueda stressing the central bank's readiness to keep raising interest rates if underlying inflation approaches its 2% target. "If trade negotiations between the United States and other countries progress, global economic activity is likely to pick up," said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute. "The timing of policy interest rate hikes is now more likely to be delayed compared to previous projections, but the BOJ is expected to implement an additional rate hike in the first quarter of 2026." None of the 60 economists in the June 2-10 survey expected the BOJ to raise rates at its upcoming policy meeting on June 16-17. Specifically, 52% of economists, 30 of 58, expected borrowing costs to stay at 0.50% at year-end, the reverse of a poll in May when 52% expected rates at 0.75% by end-2025. Interest rate futures are only pricing in about 17 basis points more of tightening from the BOJ by year-end. More than three-quarters of respondents, 40 of 51, now expect at least one 25-basis-point increase by end-March, the poll showed. Of 35 economists who specified a month for when the BOJ will next hike rates, January 2025 was the top choice at 37%, followed by 23% for October this year and 9% saying March 2025. The BOJ exited a massive stimulus programme in March last year and pushed up short-term interest rates to 0.25% in July and 0.50% in January. Just over half of respondents, 17 of 31, said the BOJ would decelerate its pace of tapering JGB purchases from the current roughly 400 billion yen per quarter beyond April next year. Of those respondents the quarterly taper size prediction ranged from 200 billion yen to 370 billion yen. The BOJ began tapering its huge bond buying last year to wean the economy off decades of massive stimulus even though it still owns roughly half of outstanding JGBs. Three-quarters of economists, 21 of 28, said the government would trim issuance of super-long bonds while the rest said the amount would not change. Yields on super-long JGBs rose to record levels last month due to dwindling demand from traditional buyers like life insurers and concern over steadily rising debt levels. Reuters reported on Monday the government is considering buying back some super-long bonds it issued at low interest rates on top of an expected government plan to trim issuance of super-long bonds in the wake of sharp rises in yields. Seventeen said the issuance of 30-year JGBs would be reduced, followed by 16 selecting 40-year and 10 choosing 20-year bonds. Survey respondents were allowed to give multiple responses. "With the auction results consistently weak, the finance ministry is facing strong pressure to reduce the amount of super-long JGBs issued from July onwards," said Kazutaka Maeda, economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute. (Other stories from the June Reuters global economic poll)