Oil and gas producer Santos has increased third quarter sales revenue by 27 per cent and maintained full year production guidance.
Sales revenue for the three months to September rose to $680 million from $535 million in the same period a year earlier, Adelaide-based Santos said in a statement on Thursday.
That helped sales for the nine months to rise nine per cent to $1.78 billion for Australia's third largest oil and gas producer.
The increase came on the back of higher oil and gas prices.
Production in the third quarter fell two per cent to 12.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from a year earlier and sales volumes were steady at 15.4 mmboe.
Santos also said it was keeping its guidance for 2011 production at between 47 mmboe and 50 mmboe.
Oil and gas production was 49.9 mmboe for the 12 months to December 31, 2010, down eight per cent from 54.4 mmboe in calendar 2009.
Santos said guidance for royalty-related tax expenses had increased due to higher realised oil prices than previously assumed.
Royalty-related taxation expenses would now be $100 million to $120 million after tax.
Other guidance was kept the same, with production costs to remain at $550 million to $590 million and capital expenditure of $3 billion in 2011.
Chief executive David Knox said output of all the company's products was higher in the third quarter from the previous quarter as operations recovered from adverse weather earlier in the year.
"Cooper Basin gas and oil production increased as field conditions continued to improve," Mr Knox said.
"GLNG (Gladstone LNG) construction activity continues to ramp-up quickly.
"Site clearing on Curtis Island is complete and bulk earthworks are well underway."
Santos has invested heavily in new major projects as a joint-venture partner, including the $US16 billion ($A15.68 billion) Gladstone LNG coal seam gas project and Papua New Guinea LNG operations - with first production several years away.
Natural gas demand is set to more than double by 2020, with Australia one of the world's biggest exporters.
Santos recently made a $924 million friendly bid for NSW-based Eastern Star Gas, which controls NSW's largest CSG resource.
A successful takeover would diversify Santos away from the Cooper Basin in South Australia, its largest asset.
Mr Knox said the start-up of the Chim Sao project in Vietnam represented a significant addition to Santos' oil production.
Shares in Santos were down 27 cents, or 2.19 per cent, at $12.07 on Thursday, as the broader market declined more than 1.5 per cent.
