The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), founded in 1982, is one of the largest state-owned oil giants in China , as well as the largest offshore oil and gas producer. It is authorized to cooperate with foreign partners for oil and gas exploitation in China 's offshore areas. Headquartered in Beijing , it has a total staff of 51,000 with a registered capital of RMB 94.9 billion.

CNOOC has maintained a momentum of rapid growth and developed from an upstream oil company exclusively engaged in oil and gas exploitation into an integrated corporation with a competitive core business and synergetic business portfolio along the value chain. It has established six business sectors, namely, oil and gas exploitation, technical services, chemical and fertilizer production and refining, natural gas and power generation, financial services, and logistic service and new energies development. In recent years, through successful implementation of the strategies of reform and reshuffling, assets management, overseas mergers and acquisitions, integration of upstream and downstream businesses, the company has experienced a great leap, has strengthened its comprehensive competitiveness and gradually established an image of a highly efficient international oil enterprise. The year 2007 saw it achieving a sales income of RMB 160.0 billion and a net profit of RMB 56.5billion, meanwhile paying a tax of RMB 35.0 billion to the state,amounting to more than 60% of the total profit. The total and net assets of CNOOC have reached RMB 300.0billion and RMB 170.0 billion respectively.

After relieving itself from the heavy production loss incurred by the violent typhoons while at the same time ensuring safety in all operations, CNOOC produced a total of 40.46 million tons of oil and gas in 2007.

Besides doing the traditional upstream business, CNOOC has been vigorously carrying out structural reshuffling and industrial upgrading in an effort to optimize its industrial and value chains. With of the expansion of its unique midstream and downstream businesses, the industrial framework of CNOOC as an integrated energy company is beginning to take shape. The Guangdong LNG Project, the first LNG import project in China , started production in May 2006. Projects in Fujian , Zhejiang and Shanghai are under construction. CNOOC has secured its leading position in the LNG sector in China , and will continue to make significant contributions to the economic development and environmental protection in the coastal Southeast China . The world-class CNOOC-Shell Petrochemicals Project and the Huizhou Refinery Project register the highest technological and managerial standards among their counterparts in China for their technical advancement, scale economy and strict cost control. By adopting the strategy of differentiation, the downstream products, such as urea, heavy bitumen and fuel oil, are expanding their market shares with enhanced competitiveness as a leader of the market.

The outstanding performances of the four listed companies under the CNOOC flagship (i.e. CNOOC Ltd., China Oilfield Services Ltd., CNOOC Engineering Ltd., and China BlueChemicals Co., Ltd) have won wide recognition in the global capital markets for their transparent corporate governance, strong profitability and a promising future for growth. For three consecutive years, CNOOC Ltd. has gained the award of “Best Managed Chinese Company” by the magazine Finance Asia . China Oilfield Services Ltd. has been recommended by Standard & Poor's as one of the world's top 30 companies that create the largest values for shareholders. CNOOC Engineering Ltd. has been awarded “CCTV Most Valued Listed Company” for three years in a row and was selected by Standard & Poor's as one of the “Global Challengers” (Only six companies in China entered the list) in 2006. By the end of 2006, the combined market value of the four listed companies had amounted to RMB 379.2 billion, an increase of 68% over the beginning of the year, resulting in a huge boost in the shareholders' value.

Meanwhile, CNOOC commits itself to the fulfillment of the political, economic and social responsibilities. The company advocates the philosophy of “Putting People First” and shows great concern for the safety, health and welfare of its employees and of the public. By establishing an HSE system in accordance with international practice and putting it into place, CNOOC has maintained a favorable HSE record, projecting itself as a safe and environment-friendly energy company. Meanwhile, as a responsible corporate entity, CNOOC takes an active part in public welfare undertakings. In 2006, it donated a total of RMB 55 million to the Tibet Program, poverty-relief projects , and aid program s for needy students and regions suffering from natural disasters inside and outside of China , building a favorable image of a responsible enterprise citizen.

CNOOC will continue to implement the strategies of pursuing a balanced development, revitalizing the company through human resources, taking the lead in technical innovation and carrying out cost control under the guidance of the scientific concept of development. Staying on course of a development path with its own characteristics, the company will develop through overall innovation with high efficiency, thus making headway towards the objective of being a world-class energy company.