UPDATE 1-DNO Q2 output falls 11 pct to 12,809 bpd
(Adds details, shares)
OSLO, July 29 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas producer DNO International ASA (DNO.OL) said on Tuesday net entitlement production fell 11 percent in the second quarter to 12,809 barrels per day from the first three months of 2008.
It achieved an average oil price of $71.46 per barrel in the second quarter, up from $61.96 in the first quarter, it said.
DNO, the first Western company to drill for oil in Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, still does not have a licence to export oil it produces in northern Iraq, forcing it to sell on the local market where prices are lower. DNO said gross production from its Tawke oilfield in northern Iraq, which it shares with the Kurdish regional authorities, rose 65 percent quarter-on-quarter to 11,361 barrels per day.
The company said its Tawke No. 10 appraisal well tested at a maximum gross rate of 9,300 barrels per day. "The well will be completed as a future oil producer," DNO said.
It said its Hawler No. 2 well on its promising Erbil discovery was spudded in May but has not yet reached the primary target formation.
Shares in DNO closed at 7.65 crowns on Monday, valuing the company at around $1.35 billion. Trading resumes at 0700 GMT. (Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa; editing by Sue Thomas)
