CNOOC on track to hit oil, gas output target

China's CNOOC on track to hit oil, gas output target - Reuters | China's top offshore oil explorer CNOOC Ltd, which acquired Canadian energy firm Nexen for $15.1 billion in February, said it is on track to meet its 2013 output target after posting a first-half profit that beat analyst estimates. CNOOC, once an investor darling for its high-growth profile, has been struggling to boost its output in the past few years as domestic fields age. The firm has spent heavily on more advanced technology to drill in deep-sea areas off the Chinese coast, expanded into unconventional energy such as oil sands and shale in North America, and acquired assets including Nexen - the biggest ever overseas corporate takeover by a Chinese company. State-controlled CNOOC said previously it aimed to produce 338 million-348 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) this year, excluding Nexen's contribution, or growth of just up to 2 percent from 2012. First-half output rose 7.7 percent on year to 173.3 million boe, not including Nexen's production, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.