Tullow Oil Posts First Half Profits; Resignation of the CFO

Sept. 15 (Reuters) – Africa-focused Tullow Oil (TLW.L) CFO Les Wood will step down by the end of March, the oil and gas company said on Wednesday, after returning to profit in the first half of 2021..

Tullow, which has been operating in Africa since 1986, said its after-tax profit was $ 93 million for the six-month period ended June, compared with a loss of $ 1.33 billion last year due to charges from depreciation.

The process of finding a new CFO is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, he said.

The company, which refinanced its $ 2.3 billion debt earlier this year, on Wednesday raised the lower limit of its 2021 production target to reflect increased production from its Simba field in Central Africa while postponing the planned maintenance shutdown of the Jubilee plant in Ghana to 2022.

He now expects production in 2021 of between 58,000 and 61,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe) compared to his previous forecast of 55,000 to 61,000 boe / d.

First-half production fell 21%, in line with Tullow’s expectations, largely due to natural declines in its Jubilee and TEN fields and reflecting recent divestitures of its assets in Equatorial Guinea and the Dussafu Marin permit.

“Strong operational performance in the first half of the year and transformational debt refinancing put Tullow on a solid footing to deliver on our business plan,” said Managing Director Rahul Dhir.

Tullow said the company and its joint venture partners have completed the overhaul of Kenya’s development project, adding that the total gross investment for the project is expected to be around $ 3.4 billion, higher than previous forecasts.

The company, which entered Kenya in 2010, now expects a gross recovery of the project’s oil of 585 million barrels of oil (mmbo) over the life of the field, which analysts at JP Morgan have said. in a research note was at least 14% higher than their estimate.

Reporting by Shanima A and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Elaine Hardcastle

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