“Total production for the three months ended 31 March 2005 was 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) compared with 9.7 mmboe in the previous corresponding period,” said Santos.

Sales volumes were also up from 10.0 mmboe to 13.6 mmboe while total sales revenue increased to $465.9 million from $256.4 million in the first quarter of 2004.

Santos managing director John Ellice-Flint said the results reflected the benefits of increased interests acquired last year and early this year in Indonesia, the Cooper Basin and offshore Victoria.

“The good performance also reflects the recovery from the Moomba plant incident which occurred during the comparable quarter last year," Ellice-Flint said.

"The first payment from the insurance was received during April 2005, with further payments anticipated to be received by years end.

“The company continued to grow production with the start up of the Mutineer-Exeter fields in late March, which had minimal impact during the first quarter but will make a major contribution to the remainder of the year, and commencement of production from the Minerva field in the offshore Otway.”

He said the last well on the East Spar field had ceased production last month, but the John Brookes field was due on stream in August this year and would meet existing East Spar gas sales contracts along with new contracts Santos had won in the interim.

Ellice-Flint said the company had also increased its Cooper Basin and Gippsland interests after buying OMV Australia’s Basin Oil stake.

He was also looking forward to the appraisal of the Hurricane-1, offshore WA, and Hiu Aman-1 in deep-water offshore Kalimantan – both slated for follow-up drilling this year.

Shortly after the end of the March quarter, significant progress was announced on further growth projects, including the award of a production licence and completion of the onshore pipeline installation at the Casino gas field in the Otway Basin, and the development of the Oyong oil and gas field offshore East Java, Ellice-Flint said.