Tullow Oil reaches record revenue on strong oil prices

Oil and gas exploration firm Tullow saw revenue rise to a record level as strong oil and prices lifted the company's results.

Operating profit in the first half of the year surged 81 per cent to £201.3 milion, while revenue rose 33 per cent to £378 million pounds.

Production for the six months rose 1 per cent to 70,550 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Oil prices have risen 46 per cent in the first six months of the year, with the price per barrel in New York exceeding $100 for the first time in January.

The firm is predicting a positive outlook for the rest of the year, and said it expects a "significant revision" of its oil and gas resources this year following exploration successes in Uganda and Ghana,acording to chief operating officer Paul McDade.

"The next six months promise to be very exciting as our high impact exploration and appraisal campaigns in Ghana and Uganda gather momentum and we continue to build the long-term value of our business," said chief executive of Tullow Aidan Heavey.

The company plans to pump 68,000 to 70,000 barrels a day this year, down from a July forecast of 70,000 to 72,000 barrels a day. Tullow revised its target because of delays to some gas projects in the UK, Mr McDade said.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg