CNOOC Ltd, China mainland's biggest offshore oil producer, may get approval to sell local-currency denominated shares to mainland investors for a so-called A-share listing this year, Chairman Fu Chengyu said yesterday.
Should Chinese regulators approve plans by "red-chip" companies listed abroad to sell stock in their domestic market, CNOOC will be among the first batch to do so, Fu told reporters at the company's annual general meeting in Hong Kong.
China's mainland may require so-called red chip companies incorporated overseas to have at least one billion yuan (US$130 million) of annual net income before selling shares on the mainland, the Securities Times reported on May 17.
The securities regulator wants large companies to issue A shares, rather than other forms of offering such as China Depository Receipts, the newspaper said, citing people it didn't identify. China Mobile Ltd, China Netcom Group Corp Hong Kong Ltd, CNOOC and Lenovo Group Ltd are among companies likely to join the pilot program, Bloomberg News said.
CNOOC's investment in new drilling technology may help it meet output capacity targets earlier than planned, Fu said.
CNOOC will start trials in October of drilling technology that will be deployed at depths between 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters below the ocean's surface, he said at the AGM, without giving any financial details.
The mainland's oil companies are increasing capacity to gain from increasing energy demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy. CNOOC has more than doubled exploration spending as it increases overseas drilling to counter lost output at the Liuhua field in the South China Sea, damaged by a typhoon in May.
Repairs at the field are "on track right now," Fu said.
CNOOC's revenue in the first quarter fell 11 percent to 14.9 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) as oil prices dropped and crude output decreased, the company said on April 26.