CNPC overseas output below 2012 goal

CHINA National Petroleum Corp, parent of PetroChina Co, said overseas oil and gas output has exceeded 100 million tons for two consecutive years, though it fell below target in 2012.

Overseas production totaled 104.3 million tons last year, but it was over 15 million tons under its target, according to a company newsletter yesterday. CNPC was entitled to 52.4 million tons under production-sharing contracts with partners, up 1.4 percent from 2011.

CNPC attributed the missed target to mainly "geopolitical effects and the political turmoil in resource countries." Still, the company managed to produce more energy than expected in Iraq, Kazakhstan and Latin America by optimizing production processes such as enhanced oil recovery, it said.

The Rumaila field in southern Iraq became its best-performing project outside China when crude oil output exceeded 25 million tons last year, 5.2 million tons more than its annual target, CNPC said.

The firm also said its international trade volume surged 18.5 percent to more than 300 million tons and the global trade value rose 19.7 percent to US$230 billion. It has bought several refinery projects over the past years from Singapore to Japan to Scotland and France to maximize returns on crude oil produced overseas.

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