Range Resources is expanding a ‘waterflooding’ project in Trinidad, which it says should improve oil production rates from early 2019.

Waterflooding is a method to boost oil production. Water is injected into a reservoir and effectively flushes the oil out. Because water is the denser liquid, the oil sits on top.

Range (ASX:RRS) plans to add another six water injector wells at the South East area of the Beach Marcelle field in Trinidad.

While waterflooding can’t be used on every type of oil reservoir, CEO Yan Liu said the method was key to developing the Trinidad reserves.

Right now the project has four “producers” and four injector wells; it injects 1500 barrels of water a day and pulls out 200 barrels of oil a day from that specific area.

They want to lift this to 15 producing wells and 10 water injector wells.

Dual-listed Range said in July it was “still” aiming to produce 1000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by the end of this year from Trinidad, and raised £1 million from its UK shareholders to fund the Beach Marcelle operation.

Shareholders holding the stock on the AIM exchange were unimpressed that the raise was at a major discount to the 18 pence share price, and the stock on that market has fallen 56 per cent in response.

In the June quarter it achieved 800 bopd from its three producing onshore licences.

Range also owns two exploration licences in the area.

The company also owns a producing field in Indonesia.

Range shares have disappointed for years. They opened on Thursday at 0.2c and haven’t seen the sunny side of 1c since 2015.

Range shares on the ASX over the last five years.