Australian oil and gas company Santos said on Thursday that its 2013 production was expected to lift to a range of 53 million to 57 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), about a 4 percent rise on its forecast for 2012 production as new projects come online.

In a presentation to investors on Thursday, Santos Chief Financial Officer Andrew Seaton said production for 2013 would be influenced by strong output from Santos' base business and the start-up of the Fletcher Finucane oil field off the coast of Western Australia in the second half of 2013.

He said production from the Chim Sao oil field off the coast of Vietnam was expected to plateau.

Santos' capital expenditure in 2013 is forecast to rise to 4 billion AU dollars (4.15 billion U.S. dollars), from an expected 3. 5 billion AU dollars in 2012.