Premier Oil says output runs ahead of guidance

LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's Premier Oil (LSE: PMO.L - news) said on Wednesday that its daily production rate was running ahead of its annual guidance after it successfully completed maintenance over the summer.

The London-listed company's shares surged 11 percent in early trading on the news, recovering some ground after sliding 67 percent over the past four months as the price of crude fell. After rallying in the spring, Benchmark crude is back below $50 a barrel.

Premier Oil said it had so far been pumping oil at a rate of 57,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) this year, ahead of its 2015 guidance of 55,000 boepd.

A new project, Solan, in the British North Sea, is due to start producing oil in the fourth quarter, Premier (NasdaqGS: PINC - news) confirmed, meaning that its daily output could rise further later in the year.

The company, whose operations stretch from the Falkland Islands to Indonesia, has net debt of $2 billion. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) agreed last month to not pay dividends for two years under a renegotiation of agreements with banks and bondholders designed to increase its financial flexibility against the backdrop of sharply lower crude prices.

Analysts at First Energy, however, said that given the recent drop in the company's share price, the stock looked attractive given the announcement on its output running ahead of guidance.

"At current levels, we see Premier as a very attractive vehicle to play our bullish view on oil," they said. (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Susan Fenton)