Tullow Oil plc (Tullow), the independent oil and gas exploration and production group, announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2012.
Commenting, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive, said:
“2012 was a year of major progress for Tullow. We materially enhanced the business with a basin-opening oil discovery in Kenya, by adding highly prospective new licences in Africa and the Atlantic Margins, refinancing our debt and partially monetising our Ugandan assets. The Jubilee Field in Ghana is now approaching its full potential and provides the base for our production profile and operational cash flow. Our financial position underpins our highly ambitious 2013 exploration programme which has high-impact wells planned in Kenya, Ethiopia, Norway, Mauritania, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire and French Guiana. This focus on exploration-led growth, together with active portfolio management and Tullow’s strong balance sheet, provides an excellent platform for growth in 2013 and beyond.”
During 2012, Tullow continued to build the in-country infrastructure needed to support a high-impact exploration programme of up to four wells. The drilling campaign, scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2013, is designed to drill new deeper plays in the offshore Mauritanian basin which have not been tested by previous exploration wells. Three of the four wells are scheduled to be drilled in 2013 using the West Leo rig which has been operating in Ghana for Tullow. The Group believes that there is significant follow-on potential if any of these wells proves to be successful.
Tullow continued to build its equity position offshore Mauritania, following the award of the new C-10 licence in 2011 we have also completed farm-ins to the C-6 and C-7 Blocks. The C-10 licence was awarded to cover the exploration areas previously covered by the Production Sharing contracts PSC A and PSC B. Extensions were also granted to the discovery areas of the PSC A and B licences which contain the Banda, Tevet and Tiof oil and gas discoveries. Tullow has increased its equity in all of these areas to over 60% and is the operator.
In November 2012 the Banda field was declared commercial and it is planned that the field will supply gas to a new local power station, subject to completion of a suitable Gas Sales Agreement. Discussions are now under way to put in place the commercial agreements that will underpin the project.
Production from the Chinguetti field in Mauritania, which is a separate play type from the Group’s new exploration acreage, averaged 1,300 boepd in 2012, a decline from 1,400 boepd in 2011 and in-line with expectations.
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