Magnolia Petroleum surges after revealing it has more than 200 fully operational wells

Shares in Magnolia Petroleum surged over 20% early on Friday, after the oil and gas producer said it has over 200 fully operational wells, after seven more came on stream during the latest quarter.

The London-listed company now has 202 wells in operation, with an additional ten currently being developed and due to come on line in the final quarter of the year.

In a short statement, Magnolia said production costs including capital expenditure are around US$33 per barrel, reflecting an average interest of 3% in each well, adding it will participate in a 10-well programme being drilled by Continental Resources.

“In line with our high growth/low risk model, not only does our portfolio of wells generate material cashflows for reinvestment into further drilling, but also the high well count also provides a high level of diversification," said group chief operating officer Rita Whittington.

Whittington added that gas sales were now accounting for almost 50% of the company's revenue.

“As the drivers behind gas prices are more local than those of oil, almost half of our revenues now have a relatively low correlation to WTI," she said.

“The repositioning of our portfolio highlights both the flexibility of our model and management’s expertise in acquiring leases in highly sought after areas.”

Magnolia shares were up 27.47% to 0.580p at 0924 BST on Friday.