US-focused South Australian oil and gas explorer Sundance Energy upgrades reserve value to $159.5 million US-FOCUSED oil and gas explorer Sundance Energy has announced a $47.9 million increase in the value of its proved reserves. The Adelaide-based explorer said the increase - to $159.5 million - was achieved despite not including the company's new Eagle Ford reserves in Texas, which were acquired through a recent merger with Texon Petroleum. The reserve update, which follows an evaluation by Netherland Sewell and Associates, increases the company's proved and probable reserves by 4.1 mmboe (million barrels of oil equivalent) to 20 mmboe. It also sees a 10 mmboe increase in Sundance Energy's proved, probable and possible reserves, to 57.8 mmboe. The proved reserve increase was driven primarily by growth in the Wattenberg Field-part of the Denver-Julesburg Basin that straddles Wyoming and Colorado - and an appraisal program in Oklahoma. In the 2012 financial year, Sundance Energy produced an average of 1163 barrels of oil a day from its US projects, for a $6 million after-tax profit. The company completed its merger with Texon Petroleum on March 8. Under the merger, Texon Petroleum transferred all its non-Eagle Ford assets into subsidiary company Talon Petroleum, which has listed separately on the ASX.