Updated: 2007-04-27 15:34

CNOOC Ltd, China's top offshore oil and gas company, expects to discover "a cluster of quality oil and gas fields" at Bohai Bay that will become a major driving force behind future output.

"Our major discoveries at Bohai Bay are close to each other. Therefore, we anticipate a cluster of quality oil and gas fields to be found there Bohai Bay will be a major driving force for our projected production growth in 2008 and beyond," said Yang Hua, executive vice-president of CNOOC, in Hong Kong yesterday.

PetroChina, China's leading oil producer, announced in March it had discovered China's biggest oilfield in the past decade at Bohai Bay. Almost simultaneously, CNOOC unveiled a find at Bohai Bay with a test output of 1,600 barrels of oil and roughly 10 million cubic feet of gas per day.

"While our production target for 2007 remains flat at 162 to 170 million barrels oil equivalent (BOE), the projected output is expected to hit 190 million next year. The increase will mainly come from offshore projects within China," Yang said.

CNOOC is undertaking steady exploration efforts to prepare for a production increase from next year, he said.

In the first quarter of 2007, CNOOC's