Tullow Oil to take two partners

TULLOW Oil has confirmed that it will take on both China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Total as equal farm-in partners on its newly acquired Ugandan assets, once final government approval is granted.

It had been speculated that one of the two industry giants would partner Tullow at the Kasamene field, which it has all but acquired full ownership from Canadian company Heritage Oil. Formal approval of Tullow’s plan is due to be granted by the Ugandan Government in the next few weeks. The three companies will then each own a third of the three block field.

Meanwhile, Tullow yesterday reported a strong operational performance for 2009, although its financial results were down – as expected – pending first oil flows from its headline Jubilee field in Ghana.