Meridian Petroleum (AIM: MRP), the oil and gas exploration and production Company with interests in the US and Australia, climbed higher after reporting an increase in proven reserves in the East Lake Verret Field, and continued production success at the Orion 36 well.
Meridian reported that production at Orion 36 continued its 'strong' performance in September, with average gross daily gas production rate, excluding down time, of 5.4 mmcfd. The well also produced 1,456 barrels of natural gas liquids in September. Net production to Meridian for the month was 84.5mmcf of gas and 795 barrels of natural gas liquids, or 496 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Meanwhile, at the East Lake Verret Field in Louisiana, production came back on stream on 4 September after the threat of Hurricane Gustav receded. Since then, Meridian's net share of September production was 29.1mmcf of gas and 1,213 barrels of oil, or 202 barrels of oil equivalent per day. A recent reserves review of the field also reported a 7% increase in the proven reserves.
Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman of Meridian, said:
"We have started our second year of production from Orion with another strong monthly performance. Combined with the steady contribution from ELV we continue to experience the strong cash flows that are vitally important in the current difficult financial environment. With both financing and valuable hedging contracts in place, we are well positioned to acquire further assets and to pursue our current development plans."