(Adds details CEO quote, details on results, background on Dorado)
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australia's No. 2 independent gas producer Santos Ltd STO.AX on Thursday said third-quarter production and sales volumes peaked to record levels, benefiting from higher output from its Western Australia assets.
Revenue of $1.03 billion was the second highest quarterly sales on record, the company said in a statement, while production surged 32% to 19.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), beating an estimate of 18.9 mmboe by UBS.
"Another highlight of the quarter was the successful appraisal of the Dorado field which is one of the most exciting growth projects in our portfolio. Following the strong well test results, we are targeting FEED-entry in early 2020," Santos Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said.
Dorado is Australia's biggest oil find since 1996 and Santos owns 80% of the field, a stake it came to own with its acquisition of Quadrant Energy in 2018. Smaller peer Carnarvon Petroleum CVN.AX holds the remaining stake in Dorado.
Just days ago, Santos further consolidated its position in the global gas market by acquiring the northern Australian business of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) COP.N in a $1.39 billion deal. The deal is expected to add to Santos' output by 25%. 65-year-old Adelaide-based company maintained its full-year production and sales forecast at 73-77 mmboe for production and 90-97 mmboe for sales.