CNOOC AI Initiatives for 2025: Key Projects, Strategies and Partnerships

CNOOC’s AI Gambit: From Digital Optimization to Intelligent Operations

From Foundational Integration to Strategic Deployment: CNOOC’s AI Evolution

Between 2021 and 2024, CNOOC embarked on a foundational journey into digitalization, setting an ambitious target of 80% digitalization by 2030. The period was characterized by broad-based implementation, with the company deploying over 30 AI applications that reportedly generated $500 million in value in 2023 alone. This phase focused on leveraging AI as an optimization tool, exemplified by the launch of a general “AI solution” in October 2024 to enhance offshore operations and the piloting of 3D reality modeling with partners like Bentley Systems. The strategy was to cast a wide net, testing AI’s potential across the value chain to improve efficiency and reduce emissions on existing assets.

A significant inflection point occurred at the start of 2025. The strategy shifted from broad optimization to targeted, strategic deployment. CNOOC is no longer just applying AI; it is embedding it into the core of its most complex and critical operations. The introduction of proprietary models like “Hi-Energy” and the integration of the “DeepSeek” AI model signal a move towards purpose-built, in-house capabilities. This is validated by high-stakes applications, such as using AI algorithms with BeiDou positioning for the installation of a record-breaking platform in the Bohai Sea and deploying a new unmanned wellhead platform at the high-pressure, high-temperature Dongfang 1-1 gas field. This evolution from software-based analysis to hardware-integrated intelligence reveals a new level of confidence, where AI is now an indispensable enabler for unlocking challenging new reserves and executing complex engineering feats. This creates an opportunity for CNOOC to establish a significant competitive advantage in technologically demanding environments, but it also raises the threat of operational dependency on these still-maturing, complex systems.

CNOOC’s Strategic Capital Allocation for a Digital Future

CNOOC’s investment strategy reflects its deepening commitment to a technology-driven future. The capital allocations clearly prioritize the integration of advanced digital solutions, including AI, into its core business of exploration and production, as well as its push into renewable energy.

Table: CNOOC Investment in AI and Digitalization

Building an AI Ecosystem Through Strategic Partnerships

CNOOC’s partnerships illustrate a calculated approach to building its AI capabilities. Initially focused on acquiring specific technological solutions, the strategy has evolved to include collaborative model development and long-term talent cultivation, creating a robust ecosystem to support its digital ambitions.

Table: CNOOC’s Key AI and Digital Partnerships

Geographic Focus Shifts to Domestic Deepwater and Complex Reservoirs

Between 2021 and 2024, CNOOC’s digital initiatives had an international flavor, with the implementation of Emissions.AI software at its North Sea assets. This period also saw a strategic realignment with the divestiture of its US Gulf of Mexico business, suggesting a consolidation of focus. The primary domestic activity was centered on broad exploration goals in the South China Sea and Bohai Sea.

Since the beginning of 2025, there has been a decisive geographic pivot. CNOOC is now deploying its most advanced AI-driven technologies to master China’s challenging domestic offshore basins. The South China Sea has become a hotbed of AI-enabled progress, hosting a major deepwater exploration breakthrough, the unmanned Dongfang 1-1 gas field, and the new Weizhou 5-3 oilfield. Concurrently, the Bohai Sea is the site of the AI-assisted installation of a record-breaking processing platform and the Kenli 10-2 heavy oil project. This geographic concentration indicates that CNOOC is weaponizing AI to achieve energy security by unlocking complex domestic reserves that were previously technologically or economically challenging. The risk, however, is an increased concentration in a single geopolitical region, making operations more sensitive to regional dynamics.

From Piloting Software to Deploying Intelligent Hardware

The maturity of CNOOC’s AI technology has advanced at a rapid pace. In the 2021-2024 timeframe, the technology was largely in the pilot and early commercial stages, dominated by software solutions. This included piloting Bentley Systems’ 3D reality modeling for digital twins and deploying OPEX Group’s Emissions.AI analytics platform. The launch of a generic “AI solution” in late 2024 marked the culmination of this phase, where AI was primarily a tool for monitoring, analysis, and data-driven optimization.

The period from 2025 to today marks a critical shift toward mature, integrated systems. The technology has moved from demonstration to deployment in mission-critical hardware. We now see specific, named AI models like “Hi-Energy” and “DeepSeek” being integrated directly into operations. The use of AI algorithms with BeiDou positioning systems for physical platform installations and the launch of intelligent, unmanned wellhead platforms are prime examples of this leap in maturity. This progression from software analysis to intelligent hardware control validates the initial ROI from the earlier phase and signals that AI is now a commercially scalable and operationally essential technology for CNOOC’s most ambitious projects. Investor interest should sharpen as the company proves AI can directly enable production from previously inaccessible fields.

Table: CNOOC’s AI SWOT Analysis

What’s Next: The Push for Autonomous Operations

The most recent data signals that CNOOC’s AI strategy is entering an even more ambitious phase. The formal naming of its “Hi-Energy” AI model and the collaborative use of “DeepSeek” are critical signals to watch; we should expect to see more disclosures on the specific capabilities and performance of these platforms as they become central to CNOOC’s operational identity. The successful deployment of an unmanned platform at Dongfang 1-1 is a powerful proof point for AI-driven autonomous operations. Market actors should anticipate CNOOC scaling this model to other fields to drive down operational expenditures and enhance safety.

Furthermore, the partnership with Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources to train talent in AI is a clear indicator of a long-term, deeply embedded strategy. CNOOC is building the human capital required to sustain and expand its digital leadership. In the year ahead, expect CNOOC to double down on leveraging AI to solve its most fundamental challenges: unlocking complex domestic resources, enhancing recovery rates, and driving “green and low-carbon” development. The narrative is no longer about digital transformation in the abstract; it is about deploying intelligent systems to secure a leading position in a technologically advanced energy future.

Frequently Asked Questions

How has CNOOC’s AI strategy evolved since 2021?
Between 2021 and 2024, CNOOC’s strategy focused on broad-based digitalization and using AI as an optimization tool across its value chain. Since the start of 2025, the strategy has shifted to targeted, strategic deployment. The company is now embedding proprietary AI models like ‘Hi-Energy’ and hardware-integrated intelligence into its most complex and critical operations, moving from software-based analysis to enabling major engineering feats.

What is the tangible financial impact of CNOOC’s AI investments?
According to the report, CNOOC’s deployment of over 30 AI applications generated $500 million in value in 2023 alone. Its financial commitment is further demonstrated by its 2025 budget, which earmarks $18.5 billion to $19 billion for capital spending that explicitly includes investments in AI integration.

Can you give specific examples of how CNOOC is deploying advanced AI in the field?
Yes, CNOOC is using AI for mission-critical physical tasks. For instance, it used AI algorithms combined with the BeiDou positioning system to precisely install a record-breaking platform in the Bohai Sea. It has also deployed a new intelligent, unmanned wellhead platform to operate the challenging high-pressure, high-temperature Dongfang 1-1 gas field.

Who are CNOOC’s key partners in building its AI and digital capabilities?
CNOOC has a diverse partnership strategy. It has worked with technology providers like Bentley Systems for 3D reality modeling and OPEX Group for emissions software. More recently, it has collaborated with other Chinese national oil companies like PetroChina and Sinopec to integrate the ‘DeepSeek’ AI model. It is also building a future talent pipeline by partnering with Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources on scholarships focused on AI.

What are the main opportunities and risks of CNOOC’s current AI-driven strategy?
The primary opportunity is using AI to unlock complex domestic reserves in areas like the South China Sea and Bohai Sea that were previously too challenging or uneconomical, thereby directly adding to reserves and enhancing energy security. The key risks are an increased operational dependency on these still-maturing, complex AI systems and a heightened geopolitical risk from concentrating its most advanced assets in a single region.

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