Imperial Strikes It Rich With Production of Oil

OIL company Imperial Energy announced that drilling is ahead of schedule and it is on track to deliver 25,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of this year.

The Leeds-based company said in a trading update ahead of its AGM this morning that it has seen further success on its Kiev Eganskoye field and the first oil is due in September.

The group said that while the first six-month production levels have been disappointing, it is confident of significant growth in the second half of 2008.

It said its confidence was underlined by the latest discoveries on its Kiev Eganskoye field and recent successful test results from the field.

In Kazakhstan exploration drilling has been slower than expected, although the target zone will be reached soon and results will be announced after that.

In April the group ditched a planned debt financing as a result of the global credit crisis and issued shares instead to raise the cash. Surging oil prices mean that oil companies have had little difficulty raising cash for projects.

Yesterday it said the successful rights issue meant it had no bank debt and it is in a strong financial position with no gearing and sufficient cash resources to allow it to meet its oil production targets.

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