China's CNOOC Ltd believes fossil fuel will be a stabilising factor in global energy demand for the foreseeable future, as the offshore oil and gas major sets a record output target for 2024, its executives said on Thursday.
The state-run company aimed to pump 700 million to 720 million barrels of oil equivalent for 2024, or 3% to 6% above the level of last year, CNOOC told an earnings briefing after posting a record interim profit.
CNOOC expects domestic natural gas production to maintain strong growth through 2030 and stands ready to monetise vast gas resources in Guyana, Chief Executive Zhou Xinhuai told the briefing.
The company is part of the Exxon Mobil-led Stabroek offshore Guyana joint venture that has discovered some 11.6 billion barrels in oil and gas so far.
A recent award to develop Block 7 in Iraq could lead to a new large discovery, although the company will first need sufficient appraisals to understand its reserve potential, Zhou added.
"CNOOC will maintain our high standards in picking new assets globally," Zhou said.
On new energy, Zhou said the company would focus on investing in projects that offer the best cost advantages, for example the commissioning of the world's first 5-megawatt offshore high-temperature flue gas waste heat power plant.
CNOOC said it expected oil prices to keep in a range of $75 to $85 a barrel for the second half of 2024. It targets annual capital expenditure at 125 billion yuan to 135 billion yuan ($18 billion to $19 billion), versus last year's 129.6 billion.
Its interim earnings at $11.2 billion were slightly below the $12.4 billion reported by PetroChina, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, but more than double those of refining giant Sinopec, at $5.2 billion.
(Reuters - Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Colleen Howe; Writing by Liz Lee; Editing by David Goodman and Clarence Fernandez)