Placerita oil field operator Berry Petroleum Co. rebounded during the second quarter of 2011, posting profits of $105 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, versus a loss of $52 million for the preceding period.

The second-quarter figure includes $64.5 million in non-cash gains on hedges, resulting in an adjusted income figure of $40.7 million, or $0.73 per diluted share.

Driving the turnaround were 18 percent higher sales prices and 9 percent higher production volume — 35,606 barrels per day, of which 69 percent was oil and 31 percent natural gas.

Production increased significantly at Berry’s East Texas property and at the company’s North Midway-Sunset field in Taft, where volumes rose 59% during the quarter.

Berry President Robert F. Heinemann said the rest of 2011 will see the company direct 100 percent of its capital investment dollars into oil production, which should drive the oil ratio above 69 percent.

That’s because July 22, the company received the green light from the California Department of Conservation’s oil and gas division to continue the full development of its Midway-Sunset field.

Founded a century ago in Taft, Berry owns and operates multiple California assets including the Placerita field west of Sierra Highway in Newhall. Now headquartered in Denver, the company expanded beyond the Golden State in 2003 with operations in California, Colorado, Texas and Utah.