Cooper CEO Michael Scott said that this represented a milestone achievement for the company and was testimony to Cooper's unhedged oil position.

"Not withstanding a minor softening in the oil price since we recorded this result, we should be able to maintain this level of cash generation in the foreseeable future through increased production," he said.

"The outstanding success of the Christies-2 (PEL92) and Worrior-2 (PEL93) development wells are expected to launch Cooper into a period of rising oil production."

Cooper recently forecast a trebling of production, currently 500 barrels per day, from the Christies field following the discovery of two new oil pools in the Namur zone in the recently drilled Christies-2 well. These discoveries are expected to double reserves at Christies, and is significantly higher than the previously reported 45% increase.

Scott said that in the near future Cooper was looking forward to increasing the present production levels of 750 barrels of oil per day by at least 30%, and breaking through the 1,000 barrels of oil per day mark.

"The enhanced production profile will continue to generate significant cash flow for Cooper so that we can continue to leverage our way into further outstanding growth opportunities.

"The Christies-3 development well and the Arwon-1 exploration well, if successful, will also enhance Cooper's production and reserves position," he said.