Dana starts new oil production in Egypt

Dana Petroleum said it started off 2012 on a strong footing after starting oil production from an onshore well near the Egyptian coast. Dana, which has headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland, said it started oil production from the Matr-1SXT well near the Gulf of Suez. The company said it expected the well to produce only 1,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day but noted the reserve estimate associated with the Matr lease is at least 10 million barrels of oil equivalent. Nick Dancer, managing director of Egyptian operations for Dana, said there are plans to bring three more discoveries in the development area online by next year. "2011 was a successful year for Dana Egypt and I'm delighted that we've started 2012 with this positive news," he said in a statement. In November, the Egyptian government approved plans for Dana to form a joint venture with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp., dubbed Petro Kareem. Dana said early last year, before Egypt's revolution, output from seven new fields in Egypt brought production to an estimated 42,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day -- 20 percent higher than in 2009.