By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--Australia's Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. (AUT.AU) forecast
a sharp jump in production for the year ahead as the company reaps
the benefits from a spending drive on new wells and infrastructure
in South Texas.
The Perth-based company said it expects oil-and-gas output to
rise around 47% to between 10.6 million and 11.7 million barrels of
oil equivalent in 2014.
Aurora holds stakes in four joint ventures in the Sugarkane
field, which sits in the core of the Eagle Ford shale region.
The company "expects this strong growth to continue through 2015
and beyond through the development of our significant remaining
well inventory," Chief Executive Douglas Brooks said in a statement
to Australia's stock exchange.
Smaller energy firms like Aurora and ConocoPhillips (COP) have
thrived in the oil-and-gas-rich region of Eagle Ford in South Texas
where, thanks to new drilling techniques and hydraulic fracturing,
shale formations have become productive sources of oil and gas.
The Eagle Ford is now the fifth largest field for U.S. shale gas
production, Aurora says on its website.
Mr. Brooks said Aurora planned to scale back capital expenditure
in 2014, while still adding more new wells than the year prior.
Directors have approved a capital expenditure budget of US$455
million-US$495 million for the year, down from an estimated US$490
million-US$510 million in 2013. Still, Aurora expects to add up to
a net 53 new wells, up around 13% on-year.
Aurora shares briefly rose as much as 7.4% in Sydney trading,
before slipping to be last up 0.7% compared to a 0.5% fall in the
broader index.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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