The "Baodao 21-1" gas field, China's first large deep-water deep-stratum gas field, in South China's Hainan Province Photo: CNOOC

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced on Thursday that it has added 330 million tons of oil and 120 billion cubic meters of natural gas to its proven reserve base in 2022, a year that sees its seven-year-plan to ramp up domestic production progress.

The annual increment for 2022 is the largest annual gain since the 13th Five-Year Period (2016-20), the Chinese oil major said in a press release sent to the Global Times after its annual exploration meeting that lasted from Wednesday to Thursday.

The new finds will provide a solid reserve base for the high-quality development of China's offshore oil industry and safeguard the country's national energy security.

CNOOC also listed its top 10 exploration finds and leading technological breakthroughs. 

The company announced on late December that full-scale construction has begun as part of the phase-II project of the Deep Sea No1, China's independently developed, ultra deep-water gas field. Since putting into operation in June 2021, the platform has produced more than 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas by December.

In the same month, CNOOC announced that the main production block of its Kenli 6-1, a major offshore oil field in the Bohai Sea with proven reserves totaling 100 million tons, was put into operation and was expecting peak daily crude output of 5,500 tons in 2024.

Amid complex global economic situation and external impacts, China's energy regulator has urged energy companies to shoulder the responsibility of keeping supplies and prices stable.

Globally, countries have been looking at ways of boosting domestic energy output in wake of the global energy crisis. The European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell in October said that the "best energy is the one that you produce at home".