Shengli oilfield, China's second largest, targets 2.25 million tones of offshore oil production this year, an increase of 92,000 tons over last year.

Controlled by the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the oilfield is located in the Bohai area off the coast of eastern Shandong province.

The company will rely more on offshore fields for production as its onshore field dwindles after decades of drilling, sources with the company said Wednesday.

The company did not specify what percentage of total production comes from offshore fields.

Shengli has an estimated 1.2 billion tons of shallow-water oil reserves, with 550 million tons of proven and controlled reserves.