Frontera production levels drop below forecasts

Eastern Europe-focused oil developer Frontera Resources has disappointed investors with news that oil production has fallen below expected levels. Less than 30,000 barrels of oil were produced from its Georgian operations in the five months from January 1st to June 1st, compared to 20,000 in the preceding quarterly update. AIM-listed Frontera said its believed production volumes "will increase over the remainder of the financial year such that production will be in line with current market forecasts".The Houston, Texas-based company revealed progress had been made on the construction of a gas pipeline and related facilities to connect its Mtsare Khevi Field by mid-July with the plan of producing first gas soon after.At the nearby Taribani field, experimental fracking operations have provided encouraging results with discussions dragging on with potential finance partners to re-start commercial drilling. Talks are also ongoing regarding financing a drilling campaign at the Mirzaani field elsewhere in the region, which is estimated to contain 541.7m barrels of oil. Frontera said it expected to secure a funding package "later this year".Shares in Frontera Resources were down 23.9% at 0.96p at 09:20 on Thursday.OH