Drilling operations in Canada boost Northern Petroleum's confidence

17th Sep 2014 08:19

British oil and gas company Northern Petroleum said ongoing drilling operations in Canada have boosted the group’s redevelopment project.The first two of the three-well programme have reached their target depth, with a third well set to be spudded later in September ahead of the production testing which is set to begin in October.“The company has made considerable progress over the first half of the year during which the strategy of production led growth has been actively pursued,” said group chief executive Keith Bush.“The three wells currently being drilled in Alberta will add to the production potential of the field and give us further confidence in our redevelopment play."Group production in the first half of 2014 amounted to 13,629 barrels, which generated revenue of $1.1m, up from $0.4m in the same period in 2013.The company turned a gross loss of $0.3m into a gross profit of $0.3m, while loss from continuing operations were virtually unchanged, going from $3.82m to $3.78m.Northern Petroleum shares were up 5.16% to 20.38p at 8:40am on Wednesday.