Sanford's Beveridge Recommends Cnooc, China Oilfield

PetroChina Co., the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer, is looking to make more deals in Australia, adding to about US$3.7-billion in acquisitions as part of a global drive to feed surging Chinese demand. “As one of the key markets in our Asia and Pacific operations, PetroChina is willing to expand our presence in Australia when a good opportunity arises,” Mao Zefeng, a Beijing-based spokesman for the world’s second-biggest energy company by market value, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg.

Cnooc Ltd. reported 2012 profit that missed analyst estimates as China’s biggest offshore oil producer spent more to explore and revive stalled output growth. Net income fell to 63.7 billion yuan ($10.3 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from 70.3 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. That compared with the 65.3 billion yuan mean of 29 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales climbed 2.8 percent to 247.6 billion yuan.