British oil explorer Hardy Oil and Gas expects its overall production to more than double next year after it expands drilling at its block off the eastern coast of India, top executives said.
Hardy, an India-focused explorer which recently sold its Nigerian assets, expects its profit this year to remain flat as the company will not bring any new wells on stream for production, Finance Director Dinesh Dattani told Reuters.It posted a calendar 2010 pretax profit of USD 2.2 million.Hardy expects production to increase to about 7,000 barrels of oil per day in 2012, after it drills more wells at the PY3 licence. Current production from the licence, where it has an 18% interest, averages about 3,300 bopd."We have quadrupled reserves (here) since 1999. Now we're at a stage of further development," Chief Executive Yogeshwar Sharma told Reuters.Hardy shares the PY3 licence with Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Hindustan Oil Exploration and industrial conglomerate Tata Group.The company, which had capital expenditure of more than USD 6 million last year, sees that increasing to USD 7-8 million this year as it drills two wells at the D9 block in the Bay of Bengal.Not in talk for saleHardy dismissed recent speculation it was an attractive bid target, saying it was not in talks with any company regarding a potential sale."I'm flattered people were speculating we may be takeover target, but the board has no plans. We're not in discussions with anybody," Sharma said.In March, analysts speculated Hardy Oil could become a potential target after BP tied up with India's Reliance Industries to explore deepwater oil and gas in a USD 7.2 billion deal.BP had bought a 30% stake in 23 oil and gas blocks, including licences D3 and D9, where Hardy holds a 10% interest in each.Shares in Hardy, valued at around 150 million pounds (USD 243 million), have risen by about a third since the BP-Reliance deal was announced in February. (USD 1 = 0.616 British Pounds) 
