CNOOC's net profit surged 29% last year to CNY70.3 billion as the company benefited from higher oil and gas prices and despite a flat output last year due to the suspension of its Penglai 19-3 field in Bohai Bay following an oil spill.

CNOOC makes money from its upstream exploration and production, and it doesn't operate a refining business which has weighed on Sinopec and PetroChina’s results. CNOOC’s average realized oil price jumped 40.1% to USD109.75 per barrel last year. Net production was 331.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), up 0.7% from 2010, after the closure of the Penglai field cost CNOOC 5.9 million BOE last year.

In January, the company reiterated its target of lifting output at a compound annual rate of 6% to 10% in the five years through 2015 as a result of deepwater development. It has set a conservative output target of 330 million to 340 million barrels this year.