24 August 2011, Sweetcrude, Accra – London-listed Tullow Oil saw profits surge during the first half of the year as higher oil prices and output from the Jubilee field off Ghana generated record revenue.
The company posted a net profit of $330 million for the six months to 30 June which represented a 271% increase on the $89 million it booked during the same period last year.
Revenue for the first half of the year hit a record high of almost $1.1 billion, compared to $486 million a year ago.
The rise in revenue was largely driven by a 45% rise in sales volumes, from 44,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day a year ago, to an average of 64,000 boepd.
A 45% rise in the average realised oil price, from $77 per barrel to $112 per barrel, also helped buoy revenues.
Output for the first six months of the year averaged 71,100 boepd, up 35% from an average of 55,800 a year ago.
The rise in output was largely attributed to production from the Jubilee field, off Ghana, which came online in December last year. r.
Tullow said the field was currently producing a gross average of 85,000 barrels of oil per day and it expected plateau production of 120,000 bpd by the end of the year as more production wells came online.
The company added long-lead items had been ordered for the Jubilee Phase 1A development with government approval expected “over the coming months”.
The development plan, scheduled to commence early next year, is expected to consist of eight additional wells and Tullow said it would help maintain the field’s plateau rate until about 2015.
Over the next 12 months Tullow said it planned to drill exploration and appraisal wells in French Guiana, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Capital expenditure for the year is expected to be about $1.5 billion which will be split 45% on production and development and the remainder on exploration and appraisal.
Tullow said production for the year was expected to average between 82,000 and 84,000 barrels of oil per day.
Due to increased production and cash flow from the Jubilee field Tullow announced it had doubled the dividend for the first half of the year to £0.04 per share which will be paid on 3 November to shareholders on the register on 30 September.
Tullow shares were up 3.3% early on Wednesday at 977.50 pence per share, up from Tuesday’s close of 946.50 pence per share.
