Citic Resources to double oil output

Citic Resources Holdings Ltd, the Chinese metals producer turned oil supplier, has started drilling an offshore oilfield in northeastern China that could potentially double its petroleum output by 2014, boosting sales.

Peak oil production at Yuedong field in the Bohai Bay may reach about 1.8 million metric tons a year, Chief Executive Officer Sun Xinguo said in Panjin, Liaoning province on Wednesday. That's equivalent to 36,150 barrels a day, compared with the company's total output of 33,500 barrels daily this year.

The unit of China's largest State-owned investment company is counting on a recovery in energy demand to boost earnings from its oil division, after posting a loss last year as crude prices slumped. Moody's Investors Service yesterday put the credit ratings of Citic Resources on review for possible downgrade, after the company said it expects to report a first-half loss.