Dragon Oil (LON:DGO) has completed its seventh new development well of 2010, and initial testing measured a rate of 2,451 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
The well was drilled to a depth of 3,400 metres, from the ‘Dzheitune (Lam) 28 platform’ in the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.
“This brings the company to a total of seven new development wells to date this year and we remain on target to complete 11 new wells in 2010," Dragon Oil chief executive Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa commented.
The rig has already been skidded to the next slot on the platform, where the next well has already been spudded.
Dragon Oil’s Cheleken PSA (Production Sharing Agreement) covers two offshore oil and gas fields, the Dzheitune (Lam) and the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov). The company’s primary operational focus is on the re-development of these two producing fields, which were discovered during the Soviet era in Turkmenistan.
Overall the 2010 program is targeting production growth of up to 10%, increasing to 10-15% between 2010-2012.
Last month, in its first half results, Dragon Oil reported a 4.9% increase in H1 revenues driven by higher oil prices.
Revenues in the six months to 30 June climbed 4.9% to US$276.3 million, largely due to a 50% increase in crude oil prices, while profit for the period jumped 31% to US$137.6 million and operating profit soared 42.3% to US$173.6 million. Capex (capital expenditure) increased by 11.9% to US$173.6 million.
The average daily production rate on a working interest basis was 46,420 bopd (barrels of oil per day) for 1H 2010 compared to 42,808 bopd in H1 2009.
The group has sold 3.7 million barrels of crude oil during the half after selling 4.9 million barrels a year ago. The average selling price increased from UYS$50/barrel to US$75/barrel.