Dragon Oil (LON:DGO) has signed up a new jack-up drilling rig for its Cheleken field, in the Caspian Sea offshore Turkmenistan.
Dragon said it will drill 12 wells in the current year having completed six, including one sidetrack, in the first half.
The company intended to drill between 13-15 this year but there were delays in the delivery of two platform-based rigs and the Caspian Driller.
The new memorandum of understanding is with BKE Shelf for the use of jack-up drilling capacity for a total period of three years starting from this quarter.
The Caspian Driller, meanwhile, has been moved to a ship yard in Kazakhstan for commissioning and is now expected to arrive towards the end of the year.
One of the contracted platform-based rigs will commence drilling in the fourth quarter of 2013 in the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A platform area, while the other rig is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.
Dragon confirmed average production was 73,600 barrels per day in the first half of 2013, up 15% on last year.
Entitlement production over the half dropped to 44% (2012: 49%) of the gross production due primarily to slower than expected development spend, despite lower realised crude oil prices. Sales over the half year dipped 2% to 5.7 mln barrels compared to a year ago.
Capital expenditure was US$149 mln while the company’s cash balance was US$1.65bn at end June.
In Tunisia, Dragon added that drilling is now close to target depth at Bargou and once reached, production tests will start to test the flow potential of the reservoir. Results from the Bargou tests are due in the current quarter, Dragon added.
Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa, Dragon’s chief executive, said: "I am pleased to report solid production performance in the first half of this year.
“With six wells completed, including one sidetrack, and stable performance from the existing wells, we have achieved a 15% growth in average gross field production compared with the corresponding period last year.
“We re-iterate our 2013 production growth target at the lower end of the medium-term guidance of 10-15%.”a