Oil production rise cheers Melrose

24th Feb 2010 10:31

Shares in Melrose Resources gushed higher after the oil and gas explorer and producer gave an update of its daily production in 2009 that was slightly ahead of guidance.Output during the year amounted to 38.6m barrels of oil a day (Mboepd), compared with guidance of 38.5Mboepd.This is an 8.6% increase from 2008, Melrose said, adding that the improvement was due to five new fields in Egypt coming on stream.Average oil prices amounted to $58.51 a barrel in Egypt and $55.37 in the US, Melrose said.'It has been a good year for Melrose and we achieved a record production level of 38.6Mboepd driven, in large part, by the successful fast-track development of a number of our recent Egyptian exploration discoveries,' chief executive David Thomas said. 'We were also very pleased to have finished the year with a net entitlement reserves replacement ratio of over 130%.'