By Aibing Guo

(Bloomberg) — Cnooc Ltd., China’s greatest offshore oil and fuel explorer, posted annual revenue that exceeded analyst estimates as value cuts countered a decline in vitality costs.

Net revenue dropped 66 p.c to twenty.2 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) from 60.2 billion yuan a yr earlier, the Beijing-based explorer stated in a press release to the Hong Kong inventory change on Thursday. That beat the 17.7 billion yuan imply of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Oil and pure fuel output rose practically 15 p.c and capital expenditures fell 38 p.c to 66.5 billion yuan.

“With oil prices once again plummeting towards the end of the year, worldwide oil and gas industry is experiencing a ‘cold winter’,” Chairman Yang Hua stated within the assertion. “We maintained an intensive exploration program while lowering our exploration capital expenditures.”

Brent, the benchmark for half of the world’s crude buying and selling, dropped to a mean of $54 per barrel in 2015 from $99 the yr earlier than, slashing earnings from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Chevron Corp. and forcing Exxon Mobil Corp. to chop its drilling price range to a 10-year low. State-owned Cnooc in January introduced an output discount for the primary time since 1999 to deal with low crude costs.

Shares fell 2.3 p.c to HK$8.96 earlier than the earnings have been introduced. Cnooc has gained 11 p.c this yr, in contrast with a 7 p.c lower in Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Oil has climbed again from a 12-year low this yr on hypothesis stronger demand and falling U.S. output will ease a worldwide surplus. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and different producers together with Russia plan to satisfy in Doha subsequent month to debate limiting output to cut back a worldwide oversupply.

Rival PetroChina Co.’s revenue tumbled to the bottom since 1999 as the corporate reported a 25 billion yuan writedown Wednesday. Net revenue at China’s greatest oil and fuel producer dropped 67 p.c to 35.5 billion yuan from 107 billion yuan. Sales fell 24 p.c to 1.73 trillion yuan.

Cnooc stated in January it’s going to produce 470 million to 485 million barrels of oil equal this yr. The lower-end of the corporate’s manufacturing goal units output this yr at about 1.29 million barrels a day, a drop of greater than 68,000 barrels a day. The firm stated it’s going to chop spending to a most 60 billion yuan this yr.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P