VIENNA/WASHINGTON (CI MENA) Serinus Energy (TSX: SEN: WSE: SEN), a Warsaw- and Toronto-listed oil-and-gas company, plans to double oil production in Tunisia by end-2015, a source close to the majority shareholder told Capitol Intelligence/Intellinews.

The company, controlled by Polish tycoon Jan Kulczyk’s investment vehicle Kulczyk Investments via a 51.52% stake, racked up average production of 1,360 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in December 2013, the source said. Together with assets in Ukraine, the company managed production of nearly 5,000 boe per day in December.

Serinus Energy is at present producing oil at four sites in Tunisia and is planning exploratory drills at a fifth concession, the source said. Tunisia is quickly becoming one of the most promising oil and gas exploration and production areas in the world, with operators such Austria’s OMV (VSE: OMV), Royal Dutch Shell (LSE:RDSA, RDSB), BG Group (LSE: BG) and US’s Anadarko (NYSE: APC) all investing heavily in the country.

The company plans to invest USD 45m in Tunisia this year, financed by a loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as well as from cash flows.

Total capital outlays in 2014 will exceed USD 55m, the company said in a statement on 20 January. This includes spending on at least eight new wells in Tunisia, Ukraine and Romania. The company may cut its expenditures and production targets in Ukraine, should the political situation in that market deteriorate further.

Serinus Energy plans to raise production by 30-35% this year.

Copyright of IntelliNews and CI MENA – Part of the Capitol Intelligence Group, INC.

By Aleksander Nowacki in Vienna and PK Semler in Washington.