Company on verge of becoming major player in oil and gas

TULLOW Oil has launched an €862 million bid for Australian exploration firm Hardman Resources.

The move would make Tullow the largest independent oil and gas company in the world with an output of close to 80,000 barrels of oil per day and add around a third to the Irish’s firms reserves.

Tullow has offered AUS$2.02 in cash for each Hardman Resources, valuing it at AUS$1.47 billion, or €862m. The price being paid by Tullow for the company is 54% higher than Hardman’s closing share price last Friday.