Tullow Oil gives positive assessment of its operations in Ghana

Accra, March 9, GNA - The management of Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Independent Oil and Gas group, has given a positive assessment of its operations in Ghana.

It said the first oil from the Jubilee Field had established the company as a successful deepwater operator. Mr Kevin Qiunn, Licence and Business Services Manager, Tullow Ghana Limited told journalists that there were good signals that future exploration in Ghana could yield dividend therefore, the company was lookin= g forward to developing major new oil fields as well as undertake exploration to open new basins this year.

"The business is well balanced and well funded to implement exploration-led strategy," he said at the press briefing on the 2010 financial performance of Tullow PLC in Accra on Wednesday. Tullow is expecting 75,000 to 125,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) on the back of the development of the Enyenra and Tweneboa Fields and that first oil could follow in about two-and-a-half years after sanctioning of the project.

Mr Quinn said the commercial viability of the two fields would be confirmed by the end of this year after further appraisal and testing and "that if all went well Tullow would submit a plan of development by the first half of the 2012."

This development, he said, could double Tullow's output from Ghana by the end of 2014.

The company is also on track to ramp up output from the Jubilee Field to 120,000 bopd in the near future.

Mr Quinn said about 3.7 million barrels of oil had so far been produced from the Jubilee Field since production started in November 2010. On the gas from the Jubilee Field, Mr Quinn said Tullow would commence gas re-injection later this month.

Tullow Oil posted a 361 per cent rise in pre-tax profit for 2010 to $152 million from $33 million while sales revenue for the year to December was up 19 per cent to $1,090 million from $916 million.

Operating profit was $235 million, rising 56 per cent from the previous $151 million.