TULLOW Oil, the Irish Stock Exchange-quoted explorer with the most licenses in Africa, may cut production guidance for this year after delays at projects including Jubilee, its largest field.

TULLOW Oil is expecting its most lucrative asset, the Jubilee field in Ghana, to further boost its overall profitability this year following its partial contribution to a more than four-fold increase in pre-tax profits last year.

Tullow Oil today said pre-tax profits for 2010 were $152m (€109m), up 361% on the $33m (€23.8m) posted in 2009.

SHARES in Tullow Oil – the second-highest valued Irish public company – hit a record high of £12.87 (€14.23) in early trading in London yesterday on the back of speculation that BP may lodge a bid for Kosmos Energy LLC’s stake in the Jubilee field in Ghana, which is operated by Tullow.

Britain will join a global summit on soaring world food prices today amid condemnation of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe’s presence at the crisis summit in Rome.

Members of Jubilee Ireland, the campaign to cancel Third World debt, will take to the streets of Dublin today to protest in advance of the upcoming G8 summit in Genoa.