(Alliance News) - Eland Oil & Gas PLC on Tuesday said its average net production from January to May was up, it expects its second oil field to come on-stream in July, and it is considering procuring a second rig.
Shares in Eland were down 4.2% at 120.00 pence in afternoon trade.
Average net production climbed 32% from January to May, reaching 9,880 barrels of oil per day from 7,505 barrels in the same period of 2018. System uptime was 88%, up from an 84% average the year before.
Eland is using an early production facility at its second Gbetiokun field, which is set to come onstream in July and have an initial gross production of around 12,000 barrels of oil per day from the Gbetiokun-1 and Gbetiokun-3 wells.
Chief Executive George Maxwell said: "Whilst any delays to development plans are frustrating, I am pleased that we will soon have production from our second oil field, Gbetiokun, marking a significant expansion and de-risking within our core OML 40 licence, and leading to increased production and cash-flow.
"We are extremely proud that from the point of re-entry of the Gbietiokun-1 well in November 2018, we will have achieved four producing strings with processing and full evacuation via shipping all within a period of 10 months. This also creates a fantastic foundation for the continued development of the license in early 2020 and beyond."
The company is considering procuring another drill rig in the fourth quarter of 2019, which would be fully funded with its current cash and facilities.
"The prospect of procuring a second drilling rig to accelerate our busy 2019 drilling schedule is exciting, especially with the planned drilling of the 78 million barrel Amobe prospect later this year, which has been independently evaluated to have a certified 42% chance of success," said Maxwell.
