Afren in boost from Nigeria and Kurdistan
OIL explorer Afren said yesterday its profits in the first quarter had jumped thanks to new finds.
The company said it had been buoyed by discoveries in Nigeria and Kurdistan.
Afren posted pre-tax profits of £143.2m compared with £2m in the first quarter of 2011.
The FTSE 250 explorer reported net production of 41,308 barrels of oil per day equivalent (boepd), hitting targets for the period.
That was more than 300 per cent higher than in the first quarter of last year.
Meanwhile net debt stands at $639.4m compared with $291.6m in the first quarter of 2011.
Afren said it was on track for full year net production guidance of 42,000 boepd to 46,000 boepd.
Chief executive of Afren Osman Shahenshah said: “We have made an excellent start to our 2012 exploration campaign with significant discoveries at Okoro East, Ebok North fault Block and Ain Sifni.
“We look forward to continuing our exploration programme, with wells in Nigeria, the Nigeria-São Tomé & Príncipe JDZ, Congo, the Kurdistan region of Iraq and East Africa.”
Analysts at Deutsche Banks and JP Morgan on Monday named Afren as one of their preferred oil stocks because of its recent performance.
The company expanded its reach into the Middle East last year when it bought stakes in two Kurdistan operations for $588m (£367m). The firm has said it expects its Barda Rash field in Kurdistan in Iraq to produce 10,000 to 15,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.