CNOOC 'confident' on output goals

She said in terms of new projects this year, the company has maintained its advantages in the upstream sector.

The company announced that it expects seven to 10 new projects to begin operations in 2014.

"Most of our projects will reach their production peak during 2014 and 2015," said CNOOC's Li. "Of course, that depends on whether the projects can kick off on time or not and if they can get approval, as the regulations are getting stricter."

Li said that the company is working hard to get two delayed projects back on track this year. The Lufeng 7-2 project and the Liwan 3-1 project were postponed last year.

"The production from Liwan 3-1 has been delayed because of unfavorable maritime weather. The construction work conducted by our partner, Husky Energy, on the deep water area, though not a big part, hasn't been completed as scheduled," he said.

"However, the part we manage, namely the shallow water part and the terminal, is going well. We are actively working with Husky in order to ensure the projects start production as soon as possible this year."

Referring to the Libra Field project in Brazil, which CNOOC took part in through a production-sharing contract at the end of last year, Li said it's too early to expect a profit.

"It's a world-class project. But it's still at the exploration stage. In the next one to two years, we need to invest more to determine the size of reserves. After that, based on a development plan, we will share our investment plan with shareholders," he said.

Company executives have avoided giving details about plans to raise funds. "It all depends on demand," said Zhong Hua, chief financial officer. "The company will seek more money in the capital markets as necessary. We will inform the shareholders if there is any plan."