Exploration firm Dragon Oil maintained its target for a 15 per cent increase in gross production this year, as it puts 13 new wells into production.

The company said oil prices had risen during the first quarter of 2012. The average realised crude price in the first three months of the year was $107 (€81) per barrel compared with $95 per barrel a year earlier, a 13 per cent increase. Dragon said it sold 3.6 million barrels over the quarter, one million more than a year earlier.

Gross field production for the first quarter was 70,600 barrels of oil per day, 22 per cent higher than a year earlier. The group said it was expecting to maintain an average production growth rate of 10-15 per cent every year, bringing gross field production to 100,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015, and maintaining this level for five years.

Cash, cash equivalents and term deposits rose to $1.66 billion by the end of March, up from $1.53 billion at the end of December, excluding the funds set aside for abandonment and decommissioning activities. Shareholders are due to receive a final dividend of 11 US cent a share for 2011 on April 27th.

Dragon expects to invest $250-$300 million this year, with overall infrastructure investment for the period of 2012-2015 to exceed $1 billion.