(Yicai Global) April 29 -- Shares of China National Offshore Oil Corporation jumped after the state-controlled oil and gas giant said it will make a special dividend payment of almost HKD56 billion (USD7.1 billion) as first-quarter profit more than doubled on higher prices and sales.

CNOOC’s stock price [SHA: 600938] soared by the 10 percent exchange-imposed limit to CNY17.01 (USD2.58) in Shanghai today. Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 0883] jumped 3.5 percent to close at HKD11.22 (USD1.43) each.

Beijing-based CNOOC will hand investors HKD1.18 (15 US cents) for each share held after net profit jumped 132 percent from a year earlier to CNY34.3 billion (USD5.2 billion) in the three months ended March 31, an exchange filing showed yesterday. Revenue rose 74 percent to CNY90.9 billion thanks to a 70 percent leap in sales revenue, which accounted for over 90 percent of the total.

Production by the offshore oil and gas explorer rose 9.6 percent to 151 million barrels of oil equivalent from a year ago. The firm’s average prices were USD97.47 per barrel of oil and USD8.35 per mille cubic feet of natural gas, up 65 percent and 24 percent, respectively, and in line with international pricing. The higher prices mainly resulted from the imbalance of supply and demand.

All of CNOOC’s overseas projects are operating normally and are unaffected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Covid-19 outbreaks, The Paper reported, citing Chief Financial Officer Xie Weizhi’s response to reports claiming the firm plans to sell its oil and gas assets in the United Kingdom and North America because of overseas sanctions.

Every firm boasts its own technical features and management-related expertise to seek chances to increase its investment portfolios in fields it is good at and reduce businesses that it is weak in, Xie noted, adding that CNOOC has a global presence and does not plan to quit specific regions.

Regarding the rumors that Chinese players will acquire Russian oil and gas assets after Shell and BP said they were exiting the Russian market, Xie said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict situation is still very complex and CNOOC will keep an eye on developments, but has no specific plan.

Editor: Futura Costaglione