BEIJING, March 6 -- China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's No. 3 oil producer, saw its worldwide output fall 1.3 percent last year, a news report said today, amid efforts by Chinese oil companies to meet surging demand at home.

    CNOOC's output fell to 220 million barrels, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an unidentified CNOOC executive. It said no reason was given for the decline, but noted that CNOOC was forced to shut down one of its biggest oil fields in southern China due to damage from Typhoon Chanchu in May, according to The Associated Press.

    China's two main government-owned oil companies, China National Petroleum Corp and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, have not released 2006 production figures.

    China's oil companies are spending billions of dollars trying to expand supplies to fuel its booming economy. They have invested in ventures in Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere, as well as stepping up exploration at home.

    CNOOC tried in 2005 to buy U.S. oil company Unocal Corp in order to get access to its Asian gas reserves but dropped the bid after opposition from US politicians. Later that year, Chevron Corp bought Unocal.

    CNOOC's offshore operations in China accounted for about 87 percent of total production in 2005, according to Dow Jones.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)