Cnooc’s Profit Drops as Low Oil Prices Counter Output Growth
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese oil major Cnooc Ltd. reported weaker earnings in 2025, as a drop in oil prices blunted the impact of the company’s rising production.
Net income came in at 122.1 billion yuan ($17.7 billion), down from 137.9 billion yuan a year earlier, Cnooc said in an exchange filing on Thursday. That compares with the 130.7 billion yuan average of analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
The performance tracked a year of softer oil prices, with Brent averaging around $68 a barrel, about 15% lower than in 2024.
The offshore drilling giant lifted oil and gas output to a record 777.3 million barrels last year, driven by new projects at home and overseas. That reinforced its position as the main contributor to China’s supply growth.
The offshore giant set its output target at 780 million to 800 million barrels for this year. It revised down 2025-2026 targets as part of a three‑year rolling production plan last year, citing pressure on upstream profitability from weaker fuel demand amid faster electric‑vehicle adoption.
Cnooc will continue to increase domestic oil and gas production through 2030, Senior Vice President Yan Hongtao said at a briefing for the results in Hong Kong. The company is compiling a five-year plan under Beijing’s economic blueprint, which is pending approval and will set clear targets, he added.
The war in the Middle East has reinforced energy‑security concerns, prompting Beijing to ban fuel exports and also to tighten controls on retail fuel prices to curb inflation, a move that limits refiners’ ability to pass higher costs through to consumers.
“The world faces heightened geopolitical risks and successive waves of regional conflicts, and uncertainty surrounding oil prices is set to increase markedly,” Cnooc said in the exchange filing. “Global inflationary pressures increase, economic growth remains weak, and growth divergence among different economies will further intensify.”
Cnooc is more exposed to price swings than its peers because it has limited downstream operations. The company said it was planing capital spending of 112 billion to 122 billion yuan in 2026, compared with 118.8 billion yuan last year. Its 2025 budget target was 125 billion to 135 billion yuan.
Among other Chinese oil majors, refining-heavy Sinopec reported a steeper-than-expected decline in profits for 2025 earlier this week. PetroChina Co. is scheduled to release earnings on Sunday.
(Updates with comments from briefing in paragraph six.)
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