Tullow Oil PLC starts new drilling programme offshore Ghana

() started a multi-year, multi-well drilling campaign offshore Ghana as it re-emerges from a period of heavy retrenchment.

Ghana and the Jubilee Field, where drilling started yesterday, have been identified as one of the core assets in a ten-year programme to restore the oil group’s fortunes, said Tullow.

The Maersk Venturer has been contracted for four years and is expected to drill four wells in 2021, consisting of two Jubilee production wells, one Jubilee water injector well and one TEN gas injector well.

Rahul Dhir, Tullow’s chief executive, said: “Today is an important milestone in the implementation of our long-term Business Plan.

“Working closely with the Government of Ghana and our joint venture partners in Ghana, I am confident that we will unlock the full potential from the Jubilee and TEN fields through this multi-year, multi-well drilling programme.”

Tullow reported a US$1.22bn loss for the 2020 financial year, as it made US$1.23bn of non-cash write offs and impairments against its exploration assets.

The oiler produced 74,900 barrels of oil per day, in line with expectations, and generated some US$1.39bn of revenue. Gross profit was marked at US$403mln.Tullow’s debt pile remained at US$2.4bn at the end of the year.

Shares in Tullow, which were 276p two years ago, rose 2.4% to 50.3p.