Revenue at exploration firm Dragon Oil rose 4.9 per cent in the first six months of the year, boosted by a rise in crude oil prices.
The company said revenues were $276.3 million in the six months to June 30th, compared with $263.5 million a year earlier. Average realised crude oil prices reached $75 per barrel, compared with $50 in the first half of 2009.
This price rise was partly offset by a decrease in sales volumes, the company said.
Dragon Oil increased its average gross production by 8 per cent over the six-month period, to 46,420 bopd. The company has completed six new development wells to date this year, and is on track to complete a total of 11 wells during the year to help grow production by up to 10 per cent.
Operating profit was up more than 42 per cent to $173.6 million in the period.
The company said it was confident in its outlook for the rest of the year.
"In the first half of 2010 we have continued to focus on driving production growth forward and investing in infrastructure to ensure we have the capacity to support this objective in the years ahead,” said chief executive Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa.
The company has also awarded contracts for the lease and management of a new build Super M2 jack-up rig and the contruction of two new platforms to be completed by the first quarter of 2012.
