MaxShimba
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 11, 2008
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By Eduard Gismatullin
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Tullow Oil Plc, the U.K. explorer with projects in Africa, Europe and South Asia, reported further oil discoveries in Uganda as production fell in the U.K.
The company found oil at the Wahrindi-1 well, extending the Victoria Nile Delta reserves, London-based Tullow said today in a statement. Drilling is continuing at the Ngassa-2 well where oil shows have been encountered, it said.
The explorer needs to drill a further 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) at Ngassa-2, Chief Financial Officer Ian Springett said by phone. We had to sidetrack the well and thats led to a revised date for reaching target depth later in August, he said.
Tullow is focusing on field development in Uganda and Ghana to counter a decline in production in Britain, where setbacks in North Sea operations have curbed output. Its investing about $3.1 billion with partners to start crude extraction at the Ghanaian Jubilee deposit in the second half of 2010.
The Ngassa-2 well has shales, or rock, which is quite tricky to drill through, but the more we drill them the more we learn about them, Tullow Exploration Director Angus McCoss said today on a conference call with investors. With respect to the sidetrack, there is not significant deviation at all, its just basically running alongside the first hole.
Tullow has drilled 25 wells in the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda since January 2006, of which 24 found oil and gas, proving in excess of 700 million barrels of resources and exceeding the commercial threshold for the project development, the company said today.
Declining Production
The companys first-half oil and gas output fell 16 percent from a year earlier to an average of 59,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Tullow expects to pump 58,000 barrels a day this year, at the lower end of a range it announced in May.
With Jubilee still on track for first production in the second half of 2010 and no sign of exploration prospectivity diminishing, the market is again likely to take any production shortcomings in its stride, Gerry Hennigan, an analyst with Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin, said today in a report.
Tullow has forecast a drop in first-half revenue to about 290 million pounds ($466 million) from 378 million pounds a year earlier, following lower oil and gas prices and sales volumes.
Tullow fell 3 percent to 863.5 pence in London trading, the lowest price since May 5.
It promises to be an exciting second half of the year, Chief Executive Officer Aidan Heavey said in the statement, citing high-impact wells in Ghana and Cote dIvoire and the result of the significant Ngassa-2 well in Uganda.
In South America, the explorer has received proposals for a partnership in French Guiana, while seismic studies have revealed large leads offshore Guyana, Tullow said. In Africa, a further two licenses are being acquired elsewhere in the Liberian Basin, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Tullow Oil Plc, the U.K. explorer with projects in Africa, Europe and South Asia, reported further oil discoveries in Uganda as production fell in the U.K.
The company found oil at the Wahrindi-1 well, extending the Victoria Nile Delta reserves, London-based Tullow said today in a statement. Drilling is continuing at the Ngassa-2 well where oil shows have been encountered, it said.
The explorer needs to drill a further 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) at Ngassa-2, Chief Financial Officer Ian Springett said by phone. We had to sidetrack the well and thats led to a revised date for reaching target depth later in August, he said.
Tullow is focusing on field development in Uganda and Ghana to counter a decline in production in Britain, where setbacks in North Sea operations have curbed output. Its investing about $3.1 billion with partners to start crude extraction at the Ghanaian Jubilee deposit in the second half of 2010.
The Ngassa-2 well has shales, or rock, which is quite tricky to drill through, but the more we drill them the more we learn about them, Tullow Exploration Director Angus McCoss said today on a conference call with investors. With respect to the sidetrack, there is not significant deviation at all, its just basically running alongside the first hole.
Tullow has drilled 25 wells in the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda since January 2006, of which 24 found oil and gas, proving in excess of 700 million barrels of resources and exceeding the commercial threshold for the project development, the company said today.
Declining Production
The companys first-half oil and gas output fell 16 percent from a year earlier to an average of 59,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Tullow expects to pump 58,000 barrels a day this year, at the lower end of a range it announced in May.
With Jubilee still on track for first production in the second half of 2010 and no sign of exploration prospectivity diminishing, the market is again likely to take any production shortcomings in its stride, Gerry Hennigan, an analyst with Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin, said today in a report.
Tullow has forecast a drop in first-half revenue to about 290 million pounds ($466 million) from 378 million pounds a year earlier, following lower oil and gas prices and sales volumes.
Tullow fell 3 percent to 863.5 pence in London trading, the lowest price since May 5.
It promises to be an exciting second half of the year, Chief Executive Officer Aidan Heavey said in the statement, citing high-impact wells in Ghana and Cote dIvoire and the result of the significant Ngassa-2 well in Uganda.
In South America, the explorer has received proposals for a partnership in French Guiana, while seismic studies have revealed large leads offshore Guyana, Tullow said. In Africa, a further two licenses are being acquired elsewhere in the Liberian Basin, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net
