Venture Production expects 2007 to end with the company producing 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day after a year in which downtime sent volumes lower by three percent for a damaged tanker, foul weather and gas “blow down”.

With 2007 looking to provide 48,000 boepd on average, Venture is drilling the Channon exploration well where the company owns a 53-percent stake. The Noble Julie Robertson jack-up rig will then drill the Agatha exploration well where the oil company owns 67 percent.

At the Markham field, where a compression tower has boosted flows, the Noble Kolskaya jack-up spudded a second well at Chiswick Gamma in June, and well “fracture” at the field’s well bodes well for production in September.

More production is expected in 2009 at the Grouse oil field, provided the a well planned for this autumn is successful.

And all eyes are on the Noble Ton van Langeveld semi-submersible rig which that spudded the Pilot heavy oil field appraisal well in late June, with results do by the end of July. After Pilot, the van Langeveld will head to the Narwhal heavy oil discovery outh of Pilot, and then onward to drill the Millburn appraisal.

Venture expects to spend £230 million this year, not including the GKA pipeline.