China's top economic planner has called for greater offshore exploration efforts from local oil giants to meet soaring energy demand.

"Chinese oil producers are doing a good job extracting oil and gas on land, but not in the deep sea. More efforts are needed in this field," Zhao Xiaoping, head of Energy Bureau under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Friday.

To enhance offshore drilling capacity, Chinese firms can cooperate with international counterparts, which are more experienced in offshore exploration, the NDRC official said.

Coinciding with Zhao's appeal, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the country's top offshore oil producer, said on Friday that it would invest 10 billion yuan over the next three years to boost its offshore exploration efforts.

The investment will go into building a deep-sea drilling vessel and auxiliary equipment, which will enhance the company's capability and eliminate the high cost of renting such gear, said Liu Junshan, spokesman of Beijing-based CNOOC.

"We plan to finish construction of the vessel by 2010 to tap potential deep-sea oil fields both at home and abroad," Liu said.

The firm is now tapping the OML130 field in Nigeria in partnership with Total, the world's fourth-largest oil company. CNOOC hopes to learn from Total and gain experience in deep-sea drilling, Liu said.

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