An offshore oil and gas production platform in the South China Sea. File photo: courtesy of CNOOC

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) announced on Tuesday that its offshore gas production cluster around South China's Hainan produced oil and gas totaling more than 10 million tons of oil equivalent in 2025, surpassing the benchmark for the first time in history and setting a fresh record.

The 2025 performance also achieved an annual output increase for the fifth consecutive year and doubled the volume of 2020, supporting the nation's drive toward energy security and the high-quality development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, according to a press release CNOOC sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The company's offshore gas field cluster around Hainan Island has 19 offshore platforms, three onshore terminals, and several subsea production facilities. This year, the cluster has produced more than 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas and more than 700,000 tons of liquid petroleum, both record highs.

The announcement came days after the company said that its Bohai Oilfield had produced more than 40 million tons of oil equivalent in 2025, also setting a new record.

According to CNOOC, the production increase was achieved due to several factors, including the full production of the phase II project of China's first independently developed ultra-deepwater gas field Shenhai Yihao, or Deep Sea No.1, and the initiation of second-round development of the Ledong gas field cluster.

The Bohai Oilfield, which includes more than 60 producing oil and gas fields, has yielded a cumulative crude oil output exceeding 600 million tons. Over the past five years, its oil and gas production has grown by 5 percent annually, according to CNOOC.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the ramping up of marine oil and gas production in recent years has significantly boosted China's energy security as growing domestically produced energy resources complement imports.

Following a fruitful seven-year action plan to ramp up domestic oil and gas production, China's oil and gas output reached new highs in 2025, with crude oil production potentially reaching a record high of 215 million tons, and natural gas production reaching 260 billion cubic meters, the Xinhua News Agency reported on December 15, citing data from the National Energy Administration.

The natural gas production figure is estimated to have increased by 35 percent since the end of 2020, according to the People's Daily.

Luo Liangcai, an industry expert at the CNPC Economic and Technology Research Institute, told the Global Times at the 2025 International Energy Executive Forum, which was held in Beijing on December 11 and 12, that China's record-high oil and gas production can be attributed to three factors: success in tapping ultra-deep, offshore and unconventional oil and gas resources, scientific innovation, and technological upgrades.

Most importantly, there has been a significant increase in investment in oil and gas exploration and development, Luo said.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China's investment in upstream oil and gas exploration and development continued to increase, with average annual investment being about 48 percent higher than during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, resulting in a significant increase in investment intensity, according to Luo.