Dragon Oil increased production from its flagship Cheleken fields in Turkmenistan in the first quarter, the oil exploration company said in a production update statement today. The company is assessing an approach by its main shareholder Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) for the remainder of its equity.

Cheleken Map
Dragon Oil had as at 31 December 2014 proved and probable oil and condensate reserves of 663 mln barrels and 93 mln of oil and condensate contingent resources, 1.3 tln cubic feet of gas reserves and 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas resources in the Cheleken Contract Area.

It said today that average production levels from the fields in March had risen above 93,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). The average output level for the first quarter was around 88,700 bpd, 23% higher than the same time last year. For the Cheleken Contract Area Dragon oil sets a target of reaching 100,000 bpd of gross production at the end of 2015 and maintaining this level for a minimum of five years thereafter. In the meantime, they search for new opportunities in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

The Cheleken Contract Area covers approximately 950 km² and comprises two offshore oil and gas fields, Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov), in water depths of between eight and 42 metres. The fields comprise two elongate anticlines situated at the eastern end of the prolific hydrocarbon Aspheron Ridge. Dragon Oil holds a 100% operatorship in the Cheleken Contract Area.