CNOOC Raised Profit by 38%

CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer by output, said Tuesday its first-half net profit rose 37.6% from the same period last year on soaring crude prices and increased production.

The upstream oil and gas company's net profit in the six months ended June 30 totaled CNY16.28 billion. It didn't provide its first-half 2005 net profit.

The result was higher than the average forecast of CNY15.76 billion from four analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

High oil prices buoyed CNOOC's earnings during the period, with its average crude oil price rising 42% to US$62.39 a barrel.

Revenue for the six months ended June rose 47% from a year earlier to CNY48.34 billion. It didn't last year's figure.

The company proposed a first-half dividend of HK$0.12. For the first half last year, CNOOC distributed a dividend of HK$0.05 and a special dividend of HK$0.05.

In the January-June period, CNOOC's net offshore production of oil and gas rose 7.2% to 74.4 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Liuhua oil field, a major CNOOC field in southern China that had daily output of about 22,000 barrels, has been closed since late May because of typhoon damage.