Premier Oil chief executive Simon Lockett said yesterday he was looking forward to increased exploration by the firm in the next 12 months, including in the North Sea.
In a trading update, the firm said this year it had the Spaniards East and Cyclone prospects lined up for drilling using the WilPhoenix rig.
It is also planning to drill the high-pressure, high-temperature Lacewing prospect before the year-end.
In 2013, Premier is planning to continue exploration drilling on the Catcher area, by drilling the Bonneville prospect, with other prospects being worked on for drilling later in the year.
Development drilling would also start on the Solan project, west of Shetland, next March.
The firm also gave an update on its production figures, which averaged 13,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the first half of the year in the UK, compared with 10,500 in the same period last year.
It also said production was on schedule to start on the non-operated Huntington and Rochelle projects by the end of this year.
Mr Lockett said: “We are delighted with the recent strong performance from our producing fields and with the continuing advancement of our development portfolio.
“We look forward to an increasingly material exploration programme over the next 12 months.”
The company, which bought North Sea independent EnCore for £221million earlier this year, also has assets in Norway, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and west Africa.
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