Tullow Issues Interim Management Statement for Ghana

Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) issues the following Interim Management Statement, for the period 1 January to 16 May 2012, in accordance with reporting requirements of the EU Transparency Directive. This statement is issued in advance of the Group’s Annual General Meeting, which is being held at Haberdashers’ Hall in London, at 12pm today. The Group will announce its half yearly Trading Statement and Operational Update on 4 July 2012. Half year results will be announced on 25 July 2012.

Tullow’s performance to date in the first half has been excellent. In Uganda, the Group completed the $2.9 billion farm down to CNOOC and Total, and is now progressing with exploration, appraisal and development activities. The Ngamia-1 well onshore Kenya has opened a new basin and de-risked significant prospectivity in the region. In Ghana, remedial work on the Jubilee production wells is progressing well, Jubilee Phase 1A development has commenced and the Plan of Development for the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) project is expected to be submitted later this year. Further potential basin-opening exploration campaigns have also recently commenced in Guyana and Côte d’Ivoire. In addition, the Group remains on track to deliver total net production of 78,000 to 86,000 boepd for the full year.

WEST & NORTH AFRICA
Ghana

In 2012 to date, Jubilee field production has averaged approximately 67,000 bopd and cumulative production to date is now over 33 million barrels and 34 liftings have been completed. Remedial work to rectify well productivity issues has included the sidetracking and installation of an alternative completion design in one of the affected wells and, in parallel, a programme of acid stimulations. Initial results are encouraging and the remediation programme is expected to continue over the coming months. Gross production is expected to average between 70,000 and 90,000 bopd in 2012 and field capacity is expected to be reached in early 2013.

Government approval for the Phase 1A development was received in January and will include five additional producing wells and three injection wells. The first well was drilled in April and first production from the Phase 1A development is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012.

In the West Cape Three Points licence, the Teak-4 appraisal well encountered thin non-commercial reservoirs and the well has been plugged and abandoned. Discussions are on-going in relation to further appraisal and development plans for the Mahogany, Teak, Akasa and Banda discoveries.

In the Deep Water Tano licence, excellent progress was also made on the TEN appraisal programme over the period with three wells drilled. Enyenra-4A, a down-dip appraisal well encountered good oil bearing sands and proved a continuous oil column in the Enyenra field of approximately 600 metres. Owo-1RA, the re-drill of the original Enyenra discovery well, was tested during the period at a co-mingled rate of approximately 20,000 bopd and Ntomme-2A, a down-dip appraisal well, discovered high quality oil bearing reservoirs. Technical work on the TEN development, which includes the FPSO design competition, subsea FEED and associated tendering is progressing to plan. The schedule to submit the Plan of Development to the Minister of Energy is on track for submission during the third quarter. First production is expected approximately 30 months after receipt of Government approval. Also in the Deep Water Tano licence, exploration drilling has commenced on the Wawa propsect and this will be followed by the Okure (previously Tweneboa Turonian-Deep) and Sapele wells prior to the end of the exploration period in January 2013.