China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC Group, is the third-largest national oil company in China, after CNPC (parent of PetroChina) and China Petrochemical Corporation (parent of Sinopec). The CNOOC Group focuses on the exploitation, exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in offshore China, along with its subsidiary COOEC.
The company is owned by the government of the People's Republic of China, and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) assumes shareholder rights and obligations on the government's behalf. One subsidiary, CNOOC Limited, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; the other, China Oilfield Services, is listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, CNOOC was ranked as the 126th largest public company in the world.[2] In 2023, the company's seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 85.[3]
History
When the State Council implemented the regulation of the people's petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises on January 30, 1982, CNOOC was incorporated and authorized to assume overall responsibility for the exploitation of oil and gas resources of offshore China in cooperation with foreign partners, which ensured monopoly status for CNOOC in offshore oil and natural gas. With its headquarters in Beijing, CNOOC registered with capital of RMB 94.9 billion and has more than 98,750 employees.[4]
In January 2012, one of CNOOC's offshore oilfield vessels capsized while it was under construction at a dock in east China. The $117 million ship was salvaged and did not cause any pollution according to CNOOC.[5]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the company continued doing business in Russia. For this reason Ukraine listed CNOOC as an International Sponsor of War.[6]
Unocal buyout attempt
Operations
CNOOC operates in six business sectors: exploration and development of oil and gas; technical services; logistic; chemical and fertilizer production; natural gas and power generation, and financial services and insurance. In 2004, the company generated revenue of RMB70.92 billion, a net profit of RMB 24.22 billion and RMB 12.09 billion in taxes (up 32 percent, 62 percent and 80 percent, respectively, from the previous year). By the end of 2004 total and net assets had reached RMB153.26 billion and 83.06 billion, a 28- and 21-percent increase from the beginning of the year. The company is fifth and twelfth in gross profits and total assets of state-owned enterprises in China. Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service assigned CNOOC a long-term BBB+ and A2, equivalent to China's government rating and the highest rating for a Chinese company.
The exploration and production of oil and gas grew steadily in 2004. Output reached 36.48 million tons of oil equivalent, increasing 3.12 million tons (nine percent) over 2003. Domestic production was 24.72 million tons, an 11-percent increase from the previous year and higher than the average national growth rate of three percent. The annual output in Bohai Bay exceeded 10 million tons of oil equivalent for the first time, making it the second offshore area producing over 10 million tons (after the Eastern South Sea) and an energy-production base in northern China.
CNOOC has established CNOOC Gas and Power, which focuses on gas distribution and power generation. CNOOC has become China's dominant producer of liquefied natural gas. The company signed all mid- and downstream contracts for the Guangdong and Fujian LNG projects and imported 3.5 million tons per annum (MPTA) and 2.6 MPTA of LNG, respectively, from Australia's North Western Shelf (NWS) and Indonesia's Tangguh fields (operated by BP). LNG projects in Zhejiang and Shanghai began construction, and CNOOC signed HOAs for LNG cooperation with Liaoning, Tianjin, Hebei, Hainan and Jiangsu. CNOOC has completed its preliminary strategic natural-gas deployment in southern coastal areas up to the Yangtze River.
Controversy
Drug-trafficking ties
In October 2004, contract-sharing was negotiated in Burma by Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation and CNOOC's Singaporean joint-venture partner, Golden Aaron. Golden Aaron is run by Cecilia Ng, wife of Steven Law; Law is the son of Lo Hsing Han, known as the "godfather of heroin". In 2008, the US Treasury intimated that CNOOC cooperates with a company run by a family known for heroin trafficking.
Human-rights abuses in Burma
In 2007, CNOOC was involved in a clash with Burmese workers who threw stones at the company offices. Ten workers from Kyaukphyu were detained and questioned by authorities after a dispute with CNOOC over low wages, long hours,[39] reported underpayment and the mistreatment of inhabitants.[40]
External links
References
- Number of employees at China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) from 2010 to 2023^
- Forbes Global 2000 Forbes, retrieved 31 October 2020^
- The Global 2000 2023 Forbes, retrieved 2024-02-07^