BEIJING - China's leading off-shore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd. announced Wednesday its unaudited third-quarter sales revenues hit 48.44 billion yuan ($7.68 billion), up 4.7 percent year-on-year.

The company attributed the increase to the rise in production, according to its third-quarter business report.

The company produced 87.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) during the third quarter of the year. This was primarily boosted by new projects and new development wells, the improvement of overseas production, and the stable production in oil and gas fields.

"I am very pleased to witness that our company has achieved net production growth in the third quarter," CNOOC's CEO Li Fanrong said.

Li said the company had successfully drilled eight wells to further enhance reserves and production growth in the future.

The company expects annual output to reach 335-345 million BOE, according to the report.

In the third quarter, the company's average oil price decreased 6.5 percent to $104.74 per barrel while its average gas price increased 12.5 percent year-on-year to $5.83 per thousand cubic feet, the report said.