Dragon Oil profit soars 76%

Dragon Oil said profit surged 76 per cent in 2011, helped by a production ramp up at its Turkmenistan oil field and a higher oil price, though was silent on whether it would proceed with a takeover bid for explorer Bowleven. Dragon Oil on Tuesday posted full-year operating profit of $856.2 million compared to the $487.7 million it made in 2010, broadly in line with Reuters consensus forecast of $858 million from a poll of six analysts. The company said 2011 oil production rose 30 per cent to 61,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) after it drilled more wells. It set itself a 100,000 bopd production target for 2015, above a previous goal of 10 to 15 per cent annual growth. Dragon Oil continues to screen and evaluate targets that fit our criteria within Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and selectively south-east Asia in order to create a diversified balanced portfolio,” the firm said in a statement. Dragon said on Friday that it was considering making an approach for Bowleven, a British firm with assets in Cameroon. Dragon, which is more than 50 per cent owned by Dubai’s national oil company Emirates National Oil Company, said it planned to pay a final dividend of 11 cents, bringing the year’s total to 20 cents, an increase of 43 per cent on 2010.