PetroNeft makes first half maiden profit

20th Sep 2011 07:33

Russia-focused oil and gas firm PetroNeft Resources made a maiden profit in the first half of 2011.Pre-tax profit totaled $3.79m in the period ended 30 June, up from a loss of $4.97m the year before, helped by a foreign exchange gain of $5.97m. Earnings per share were 0.74 cents, compared with 1.51 cents loss last year. Meanwhile, revenues reached $15.98m as opposed to no revenues in the first half of 2010.Production for the six months reached 399,327 barrels of oil, averaging 2,182 barrels of oil per day.Chief executive officer Dennis Francis said, "The first part of 2011 has been very busy with the highlights being the major discovery at Sibkrayevskaya and the extension of the Lineynoye field to the North. The coming months will see results from the remaining high impact exploration wells together with increasing production as the  hydraulic fracturing programme proceeds."Two of the five exploration/delineation wells to be drilled in 2011 have already been drilled, one of which led to its largest discovery to date at Sibkrayevskaya in Licence 61 in August.BC