China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the country's top offshore oil and gas driller, said on Thursday that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, to further deepen bilateral cooperation.

Both parties will step up efforts to enhance their collaboration in oil and gas exploration and development, upstream services and engineering construction, LNG, crude oil trade, new energy, and low-carbon development, it said.

CNOOC has been stepping up cooperation with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years, with its business coverage expanding to over 30 countries and regions, it said.

The United Arab Emirates, the third-largest oil producer of OPEC, possesses abundant oil and gas resources, making it a key region for CNOOC's high-quality international oil and gas cooperation. In 2019, CNOOC entered the UAE's upstream business for the first time.