Shares in Cairn Energy leapt by over 6% this morning after the UK-listed oil and gas company updated on exploration efforts in Senegal and reported first half results.

The exploration and development company issued an estimate claiming its Senegal SNE field could produce 563m barrels of oil and 1tn cubic feet of gas.

Cairn reported pretax profits from continuing operations for the six months through to June of $313m versus a $57m loss in the year-ago period.

Production target

Cairn said joint venture planning was underway for phased development of its SNE field.  It is targeting production rates of 75,000-125,000 barrels of oil per day, expected to commence at some point during 2021-2023.

The explorer added that it had begun engaging with contractors prior to a formal tendering process later this year.  Cairn believes around 25 oil wells will be needed in the initial development phase.

North Sea

In terms of its North Sea prospects, Cairn´s Kraken field has entered into production while its Catcher field is due to begin pumping oil later this year.

Meanwhile, Cairn has also expanded its exploration portfolio with new prospects in Norway, Ireland and Mexico, which it claims could present drilling opportunities in the “near term”.

“We have created a strong platform for future growth with active positions in various geographies providing significant acreage of both technical and commercial value,” said chief executive Simon Thomson.

Wood results

Shares in oil services company John Wood Group were little changed this morning after it reported a 77% fall in pretax profits to $13.5m for the first half of 2017.

Wood Group had previously warned that softer oil prices this year would put downward pressure on spending by its oil-producing customers.