Repairs carried out in February and early March have since returned oil production to an equivalent rate prior to the failure while a planned workover in late June is expected to boost oil production.
Other factors contributing to the production decline included lower customer demand for gas from the Cooper Basin and the John Brookes field, as well as a shut-in of the Patricia Baleen plant due to hydrocarbon dew point problems.
This was offset by higher oil production in Indonesia due to good performance from the Oyong field offshore East Java as well as the solid performance of Santos' east Australian gas business.
"The company remains on track to deliver 2008 production in the range of 56 to 58 million barrels of oil equivalent, in line with our guidance," Santos chief executive David Knox said.
Revenue for the quarter was also down 2% from the fourth quarter of 2007 to $634 million though this was still a 9% improvement from the $581 million achieved in Q1 2007.
