Dragon Oil generated record revenue in 2011, reaching more $1 billion, the firm said.

The exploration company said output rose by 30 per cent for the year, and oil prices rose over the 12 month period.

Prices for Brent averaged about $111 per barrel for the year, about 41 per cent higher than 2010. Dragon said the average realised crude oil price during 2011 was about $101 per barrel, a 9 per cent discount to Brent. That discount is expected to be between 10 per cent and 13 per cent in 2012.

It invested about $351 million in capital expenditure, with almost half of that spent on infrastructure including the construction of platforms in Turkmenistan, and investigations to evaluate locations for future platforms.

Chief executive Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa said 2011 was "an impressive year" for production and reserves growth for Dragon Oil.

"This year, we were able to achieve a 183 per cent organic replacement of produced reserves, a remarkable achievement," he said.

"As a result of strong oil prices and production growth, we have generated over $1 billion in revenues, the highest annual earnings ever; this further strengthens our financial position as we continue our growth towards the production target of 100,000 bopd and actively pursue acquisition opportunities following the Tunisian farm-in of last year."