RIYADH: CNOOC Ltd., China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, is planning to share buybacks after a record net income in 2021 of 70.3 billion yuan ($11 billion). The profits come following a three-year low in 2020, Bloomberg reported, citing the firm’s annual report. This surge in profits is mainly attributed to the CNOOC"s increasing production which benefited from the global rise in energy prices and costs. Oil and gas output in 2021 rose 8.5 percent to hit 573 million barrels of oil equivalent. The oil and gas producer also announced that it will propose shareholder dividends of at least 40 percent of profits for the period between 2022 and 2024. The absolute dividend per share will stand at least HK$0.70. CNOOC will dedicate a total of 90 billion to 100 billion yuan in 2022 as the Asian country tries to reduce dependency on imported fuels. Output is projected to jump 5.6 percent in 2022 to reach 5.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In addition to this, the state-owned firm has planned for a 35-billion-yuan initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to boost its contribution in the clean energy sector.