In its report for the period ended March 31, 2007, operator Anzon Australia said the Bass Strait field – its sole producing asset – produced a total of 787,721 barrels of oil output during the March quarter, or an average of 8752bpd.

Production has since improved to 15,000bopd during April and the company said all of the problems that had reduced production had now been fixed.

The company attributed the disappointing March quarter result to a series of early-life equipment failures and process control shutdowns.

It said several of the problems were related specifically to the newly installed compressor and its ancillaries.

“The single most serious problem impacting production was an intermittent vibration problem associated with the coupling between the turbine and the compressor,” Anzon said.

“Other issues associated with the compressor related to the lube oil cooler, the gas cooling fans and a shutdown isolation valve failure.”

In January, Anzon announced that commissioning of the project had been seriously affected by scorching temperatures in Australia’s southeast.

At the time, it said daily rates in excess of 20,000bopd were “readily achievable”.

In the most recent report, Anzon said computer simulations indicate the field should start producing more than 18,000bopd on a trouble-free basis.

Since first start-up in mid-December, the Basker-Manta project has delivered about 833,000bbl of crude oil to Shell at its Melbourne refinery, resulting in $US54 million ($A65 million) in gross sales revenue.