Sydney-based AWE said yesterday afternoon its sales revenue rose 490% to a record $A143 million for the year, with strong production from three of the company’s cornerstone assets.

The growth in net field contribution (sales revenue less cash operating costs) was also strong, rising 454% to $A113.6 million.

Petroleum production was also a record - 3.93 million barrels of oil equivalent - a 310% rise over the previous year, following commissioning of the BassGas project and strong production from the Casino gas and Cliff Head oil projects.

AWE said the recent start of oil production and sales from the Tui project was expected to boost production, revenue and cashflow for the 2007-08 year.

The Tui FPSO Umuroa is scheduled to reach its maximum processing capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil per day in the next few weeks.

AWE also said it planned a $A53 million exploration drilling program comprising several high potential targets, most close to existing infrastructure or recent discoveries, in New Zealand, southern Australia and Indonesia in 2007-08.

The Henry-2 appraisal well and Pecten East-1 were scheduled for drilling in the Otway Basin in the first quarter of 2008, while Lisah-1 and Lengo-1 were planned for East Java this quarter.

The company also said front end engineering and design (FEED) for the Victorian Henry gas field (AWE 25% interest) was nearing completion, and a development decision on the project was expected before year-end.

The company is now planning more New Zealand exploration.

Three wells – Taranui-1, West Cape-1 and Kopuwai-1 – are still to be drilled in AWE’s large offshore Taranaki exploration campaign.

Departing AWE founding managing director Bruce Phillips told PetroleumNews.net that overall New Zealand prospectivity was “pretty good” on a global scale.

“While Australia may be more prospective for gas than New Zealand, for oil the two countries are comparable. The known oil potential really is Taranaki,” Phillips told PNN.

He said Canterbury was another region with a proven, though not yet commercial, hydrocarbon system.

Australian mid-caps operator Tap Oil, AWE, Beach Petroleum and Anzon drilled the unsuccessful Cutter-1 (PEP 38259) in offshore Canterbury almost a year ago.

Phillips said AWE’s short-term focus was definitely offshore Taranaki and Canterbury, “but we will be looking at other basins in the next two to five years”.

He added AWE hoped to make further commercial discoveries within or near the Tui Area mining licence PMP 38158, given the good prospectivity of the Eocene-aged Kapuni formation in that part of offshore Taranaki.

AWE suspended the near-field appraisal well Tieke-1 early this year and is drilling another, Taranui-1.

Phillips also said AWE had contracted the Kan Tan IV semi-submersible rig and reserved two slots for late 2008 or early 2009 for a further New Zealand offshore drilling campaign.

But, he declined to specify where any wells were likely to be drilled or in which basins. “We have a number of irons in the fire,” he said.

Phillips yesterday said AWE was well placed to become a major Australian oil and gas production company.

“The company has a strong balance sheet, a diversified asset base generating significant cash flows, good organic growth options and a very talented and dedicated work force.”

The Tui partners are operator AWE (42.5%), Mitsui E&P NZ (35%), New Zealand Oil & Gas (12.5%) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (10%).