DUBLIN AND London-listed group Tullow Oil said yesterday it has an 85 per cent exploration success rate for the year to date.
In an interim management statement, the company said its business is continuing to perform strongly, with its exploration programme delivering material successes in Uganda, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Production this year was expected to average the equivalent of 58,000 barrels of oil a day, the company said. This is in line with previous estimates.
Capital expenditure for 2009 is expected to be in the region of £750 million (€829 million).
Net debt at the end of October was £664 million, according to the company.
“Tullow has continued to build for the future in 2009 with outstanding exploration performance and excellent progress on major development projects in Africa. A number of high-impact wells will commence drilling before year-end, and we expect to have a new partner in Uganda early in the New Year. The outlook for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010 is very positive.”
Tullow said it is aiming to sell up to 50 per cent of its interests in the Lake Albert rift basin in Uganda. The exploration firm said it hopes to retain a stake in the basin and to work “with a like-minded partner”. It added that “considerable interest had been shown by a number of oil companies, and that a decision on a suitable partner would be made early next year”.
Separately, Tullow confirmed that Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy up to a 45 per cent stake in the explorer’s licence for offshore French Guyana, boosting hopes that the area could contain large oil reserves.
Shell had confirmed plans to purchase 33 per cent of the Guyane Maritime Permit, around 150km off the coast of French Guyana, and had an option to buy another 12 per cent.
Tullow is in negotiations with another party about buying another share in the block and hopes for a deal by year’s end.
The companies did not disclose the amount Shell paid but analysts at Collins Stewart put a net asset value of over £100 million on the block.
Tullow has interests in over 85 exploration and production licences across 23 countries in Africa, Europe, South America and south Asia. – (Additional reporting: Reuters)
