State-owned oil firms' profits up in H1

An oil drilling platform seen on the South China Sea. China National Petroleum Corp, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp reported record production of oil and gas equivalent at 906 million barrels, 258 million barrels and 362 million barrels, respectively, during the first six months, up 1.3 percent, 3 percent and 9.3 percent year-on-year, the companies said. Higher oil and gas output during the first six months is a result of stepped-up investments by the oil firms in domestic oil and gas exploration amid rising energy prices in recent years, which has further boosted their performance in light of recovering demand in the international crude oil market, said Wang Lining, director of the oil market department of the Economics and Technology Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corp. Wang also said that in the context of a trend toward green development and low-carbon transition, it is necessary for the oil and gas majors to better integrate and develop new energy sources. "As offshore wind development moves in further from shore and deeper water areas with increasing difficulty of construction and capital expenditure, being able to utilize its existing offshore engineering capabilities, and potentially transmitting power directly to nearby oil and gas platforms gives CNOOC an advantage in developing offshore wind compared to others."