CHINA Oilfield Services Ltd said its shareholders approved a plan to sell as many as 820 million new yuan-denominated shares to raise funds for expansion, Bloomberg said.

The funds will be used to build vessels and drilling and exploration equipment, the company, whose biggest source of revenue is Cnooc Ltd, said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late yesterday. The so-called A-shares will be listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, it said. The plan still requires government approval.

China Oilfield wants to expand and benefit from rising demand for drilling services that has driven up the cost of hiring rigs. Chinese oil companies are drilling deeper to meet surging demand that has resulted in record imports in March and April.

China Oilfield, a unit of the nation's third-largest oil producer China National Offshore Oil Corp, will invest 3.2 billion yuan (US$419 million) in capital expenditure this year, 18 percent more than in 2006, the company said March 23.

China Oilfield recorded a 37 percent increase in 2006 profit after customers increased spending on exploration. Net income rose to 1.13 billion yuan, the company said on March 23.