BEIJING — China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country's biggest offshore oil and gas producer, reported strong revenue growth for the third quarter mainly due to rising prices for crude oil and natural gas.

The unaudited revenue from oil and gas sales in the third quarter rose 16.9 percent to about 35.94 billion yuan ($5.42 billion), the company said in a report.

Average price of crude oil sold by the company surged 20.4 percent in the third quarter to $50.87 per barrel, while price for natural gas sales rose 15.9 percent from a year earlier.

The price increases were mainly driven by higher international oil prices, a rise in sales of high-priced gas projects at home and higher overseas benchmark gas prices, it said.

In contrast to the strong revenue growth, the company's net output fell 1.3 percent year-on-year to 116.2 million barrels of oil equivalent in the third quarter.

Goldman Sachs estimated the company's output over the year would amount to 469.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, higher than the company's target of between 450 million and 460 million barrels.

"The company is confident to achieve the major goals for 2017 and continue to create greater value for shareholders," said Yuan Guangyu, president of CNOOC.