Tullow Oil said it is hoping to further build production to over 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2007 after achieving an 11 per cent growth in 2006.
Average production rose to 64,720 boepd in 2006, 11 per cent higher than 2005, and reached 75,000 boepd by year-end.
For 2007, "production is expected to average in excess of 80,000 boepd," Tullow said in a trading statement.
Key fields, including Schooner and Ketch in the UK, Okume in Equatorial Guinea, Chinguetti in Mauritania, West Espoir in Côte d'Ivoire, M'Boundi in Congo Brazzaville, and Bangora in Bangladesh will help drive volumes this year, it added.
The group also plans to drill 20 exploration wells, mainly focused in Uganda, Namibia and India.
It is putting aside £370 million for capital spending for this year, up from the £330 million it spent last year, excluding the £40 million it spent to acquire 4.25 pct of Australia's Hardman Resources Ltd and a package of assets in Gabon.
Tullow eventually took over Hardman in a $1.1 billion deal that was completed last month.
"The integration of Hardman into the Tullow Group is progressing to plan and is expected to be substantially complete by the end of the first quarter of 2007," Tullow said.
Tullow added it will be reviewing Hardman's oil reserve base and this will take several months to finish.
Hardman owns 19 per cent of the Mauritanian oil field Chinguetti where output has fallen steadily since it came on stream early last year, largely due to technical problems.
Woodside Petroleum, the operator, has yet to finalise the downgraded reserves estimates for Chinguetti.