Tullow expects revenues to top $1bn

HIGHER sales volumes and a lift in commodity prices are likely to have boosted Tullow Oil’s revenues to a record level of over $1 billion in the first half of this year.

The Irish-founded oil and gas exploration company said yesterday — via a trading statement ahead of its interim results announcement next month — that it expects its first half revenues to amount to $1.05bn (€728m). This figure would be up from $486m for the same period last year.

On a production footing, the company said that its headline Jubilee field, in Ghana, has produced more than 10 million barrels of oil to date — since coming on stream last year — and is currently producing around 80,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), with an acceleration to 120,000 bopd expected by August.

Tullow has also upgraded its full-year production guidance for 2011, saying it will now produce between 90,000 and 94,000 bopd, rather than previous estimates of between 86,000 and 92,000 bopd.

Chief executive Aidan Heavey said: “The performance of our business, since the beginning of 2011, has been excellent and we expect to deliver record financial results for the first half of the year.”

Yesterday’s update also gave fresh information on the Tweneboa and Enyenra development in Ghana, which is “progressing towards Government approval” for the first half of 2012. Latest appraisal studies at Tweneboa show potential production rates of 6,500 bopd.

Mr Heavey also said that with the memorandum of understanding signed with Uganda’s Government (regarding the former Heritage Oil assets in the country), completion of the asset sale with development partners CNOOC and Total should be arrived at “soon”.

At Tullow’s Irish shareholders’ meeting in Dublin, last month, Mr Heavey said that the company should have a better understanding of the true potential of its assets in Kenya inside the next 12 months. The eastern African country is being viewed as the possible next big market for the company, and one which could replicate the success it has already seen in Uganda and Ghana.