Drilling results from two wells in the Caspian Sea made for a successful start to the year. Dublin based broker Davy believes that Dragon’s target of completing between 15 to 20 new wells each year looks increasingly comfortable.

At present Dragon Oil said it is producing 67,000 bopd of crude oil a day and it expects production to reach an exit rate of 70,000 bopd for 2011. In the coming years it expects production to grow by 10 to 15 per cent each year, to a target of 100,000 barrels a day by the end of 2015.

As part of the group’s plan to diversify and build a multi-asset oil company Dragon has struck a farm in deal to acquire a 55 per cent stake in the Bargou exploration permit in Tunisia. The project could potentially become an oilfield development in the near term.

With a rising oil price underpinning profits it comes as little surprise that oil producer Dragon Oil has recently announced that it is paying its first dividend as it becomes a more mature business.