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

CNOOC and Hydrogen: From Global Trials to a Focused Domestic Strategy

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), a titan in the traditional energy sector, is navigating the complexities of the energy transition. While its core business remains firmly in oil and gas, the company’s activities in the hydrogen space reveal a calculated, evolving strategy. By analyzing its partnerships, technology pilots, and strategic shifts between 2021 and today, we can map CNOOC’s journey from broad exploration to a more focused, albeit cautious, approach to building its role in China’s future hydrogen economy. This analysis deciphers the signals from CNOOC’s recent actions, providing insight into its long-term ambitions and the maturation of its clean energy agenda.

From Exploratory Pilots to Integrated Infrastructure

Between 2021 and 2024, CNOOC’s hydrogen activities were characterized by distinct, exploratory projects that tested different facets of the value chain. The company established a dedicated clean energy subsidiary in 2023 and initiated key research into green hydrogen production through its “Key Technologies for Offshore Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis of Seawater” project. This period was highlighted by a significant technical demonstration: a partnership with Air Liquide in October 2024 to complete the world’s longest liquid hydrogen shipment from the Netherlands to China. This trial signaled an interest in global logistics and the technical feasibility of transporting hydrogen over vast distances. Concurrently, a 2022 agreement with ExxonMobil and Shell to assess a massive 10 million tonne/year CCS hub in Daya Bay pointed to a strong interest in blue hydrogen as a viable, large-scale decarbonization pathway.

Beginning in 2025, a strategic shift became apparent. The focus has pivoted from standalone hydrogen demonstrations to a more integrated, domestic approach. While the company’s hydrogen strategy is described as “less defined,” its actions point toward building foundational capabilities. The July 2025 collaboration with state-owned peers PetroChina and Sinopec to invest in the full hydrogen value chain—from production to utilization—marks a significant inflection point. This move suggests a preference for a coordinated, national infrastructure build-out over competitive, independent ventures. CNOOC’s interest in seawater electrolysis continues, but now it is framed as a potential power source for its own offshore platforms, tying green hydrogen directly to its core operational footprint. This evolution from testing global supply chains to building domestic infrastructure with national partners indicates a maturation from speculative exploration to strategic positioning within China’s overarching energy security goals.

Investments: A Broad Commitment Awaiting Specifics

CNOOC’s investment posture reflects its cautious yet deliberate approach. While the company has earmarked significant capital for its energy transition, specific allocations to hydrogen projects remain largely undisclosed. The data indicates a clear financial commitment beginning in 2025, but the details suggest that hydrogen must compete for funding against other transition technologies like offshore wind and CCUS, where CNOOC has demonstrated more immediate, large-scale deployments.

Table: CNOOC’s Energy Transition Investment Commitments

Partnerships: A Shift from International Know-How to National Collaboration

CNOOC’s partnerships have been instrumental in its hydrogen journey, evolving from tactical, technology-focused collaborations with international experts to strategic, infrastructure-focused alliances with domestic giants. This transition underscores a strategy aimed at first learning from global leaders and then applying that knowledge to build a robust, state-backed domestic ecosystem.

Table: CNOOC’s Key Hydrogen and Clean Tech Partnerships

Geography: Consolidating Focus from Global to Domestic Waters

The geographic theater of CNOOC’s clean energy activities has distinctly narrowed. Between 2021 and 2024, the company’s vision was partly international, evidenced by the liquid hydrogen shipment originating in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the partnership with U.S.-based ExxonMobil and U.K.-based Shell for the Daya Bay CCS assessment. This demonstrated an appetite for engaging with global technology leaders and supply chains.

Since 2025, the focus has become intensely domestic. The landmark partnership on hydrogen infrastructure is with Chinese counterparts PetroChina and Sinopec. Furthermore, CNOOC’s most tangible clean-tech deployments—a series of CCUS projects—are located in its home turf: the Bohai Bay (Bozhong 26-6) and the South China Sea (offshore CCUS well). This geographic consolidation shows CNOOC leveraging its core strength in China’s offshore regions and aligning its transition strategy with national priorities. The risk of this domestic focus is a potential isolation from global technology advancements, but the opportunity is to build a dominant, integrated position within one of the world’s largest future hydrogen markets.

Technology Maturity: CCUS Scales While Green Hydrogen Remains in R&D

An analysis of CNOOC’s activities reveals a diverging path of technology maturity. In the 2021–2024 period, both hydrogen and CCUS were primarily in the research and assessment phase. CNOOC initiated a “trial operation” of a megawatt-class seawater electrolysis device and pursued the “Key Technologies” research project for green hydrogen. Simultaneously, the major CCS project with ExxonMobil and Shell was a feasibility assessment. Both technologies were being explored for their potential.

A significant shift occurred in 2025. CCUS technology has clearly graduated from assessment to commercial application. CNOOC commenced production at the Bozhong 26-6 oil field *with integrated CCUS* and began drilling its first dedicated offshore CCUS well. These are validation points, proving CCUS is a commercially viable tool for decarbonizing core operations now. In contrast, green hydrogen production via seawater electrolysis remains in the “investigating” and “exploring” stage within CNOOC. No new pilots or scaled deployments have been announced. This indicates that while CNOOC is successfully scaling technologies that decarbonize its existing fossil fuel assets, its proprietary green hydrogen production technology is on a slower, more deliberate development timeline. For investors, this signals that returns from CNOOC’s CCUS activities are near-term, while those from its green hydrogen ventures remain a longer-term prospect.

Table: CNOOC’s Hydrogen SWOT Analysis

A Calculated Future: Infrastructure First, Technology Second

The most recent data from 2025 signals that CNOOC is playing a long game with hydrogen. Its immediate priority is the pragmatic, profitable work of decarbonizing its core business through CCUS. This is where the tangible action is today. For hydrogen, the strategy appears to be infrastructure-first. The collaboration with PetroChina and Sinopec is the most critical signal for the year ahead; it suggests CNOOC’s role will be as a key partner in a state-led national network, not as a trailblazing independent producer.

Market actors should watch for two key signals. First, any specific allocation from the RMB 5-10 billion annual transition fund to a named hydrogen project would be the ultimate validation of its strategic commitment. Second, announcements regarding the “Key Technologies for Offshore Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis of Seawater” project moving from research to a scaled offshore pilot would indicate that its proprietary technology is maturing. Until then, expect CNOOC’s clean energy narrative to be dominated by its CCUS achievements, while its hydrogen ambitions are quietly built through strategic alliances and foundational research, positioning it to become a specialized provider of offshore green hydrogen when the domestic market is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CNOOC’s current hydrogen strategy?
CNOOC’s strategy has shifted from global, exploratory pilots to a focused domestic approach. The company is now prioritizing collaboration with state-owned peers like PetroChina and Sinopec to build foundational national hydrogen infrastructure, rather than pursuing independent, trailblazing projects. Its immediate focus is on developing capabilities across the value chain—from production to utilization—within China.

Is CNOOC investing heavily in specific hydrogen projects?
While CNOOC has allocated a significant budget for the energy transition (RMB 5-10 billion annually through 2025), it has not publicly disclosed specific funding amounts for hydrogen projects. The text indicates that hydrogen must compete for capital against other transition technologies like CCUS and offshore wind, where CNOOC has demonstrated more immediate, large-scale deployments. Its investment approach in hydrogen is described as cautious.

How has CNOOC’s use of partnerships evolved?
CNOOC’s partnerships have transitioned from collaborations with international experts for technology know-how to strategic alliances with domestic giants for infrastructure development. Early partnerships with companies like Air Liquide and ExxonMobil focused on technical feasibility (e.g., liquid hydrogen shipping, CCS assessment). More recently, its key partnership is a 2025 collaboration with PetroChina and Sinopec, aimed at building an integrated, state-backed domestic hydrogen ecosystem.

What is the difference between CNOOC’s progress in CCUS versus hydrogen?
There is a clear divergence in technology maturity. CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) has moved from the assessment phase to commercial application, with CNOOC commencing production at oil fields with integrated CCUS. In contrast, CNOOC’s proprietary green hydrogen technology (seawater electrolysis) remains in the research and development (R&D) stage. This indicates CCUS is a near-term, commercially viable tool for CNOOC, while green hydrogen is a longer-term prospect.

Is CNOOC focused on green hydrogen or blue hydrogen?
CNOOC is actively exploring pathways for both. Its 2022 partnership to assess a massive CCS hub in Daya Bay points to a strong interest in blue hydrogen (produced from natural gas with carbon capture) as a large-scale option. Simultaneously, it is conducting key research into green hydrogen via its “Key Technologies for Offshore Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis of Seawater” project, potentially to power its own offshore platforms.

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