Afren boosted by Nigerian production

Afren, the oil and gas explorer and producer, has seen profits soar as its Nigerian fields boosted production.

Total revenues for the six months to the end of June were $771.7m, against $161m in the same period of 2011.

Profits before tax came in at $316.1m against just $43.8m in the prior year. These numbers have been delivered despite oil prices falling 2.3% and gas prices dropping 25%.

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Production for the first half increased 217.9% to 41,251 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Afren has also confirmed it aims to get this up to 42,000 boepd by the year's end.

The key for Afren has been that its Ebok field in Nigeria has delivered year-on-year increases in production, while operations have also begun at the Barda Rash field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The company has also had significant exploration success, with successful well digs in both Nigeria and Iraq.

Analysts at Investec said "high impact" wells in Tanzania, Kurdistan and Kenya could "move the needle" for Afren over the coming 12 months.

Osman Shahenshah, Afren's Chief Executive, described the results as "strong". The market appears to agree, the stock was up 0.24% at 10:26 and has now gained 40% since the start of the year.

BS