Tullow Oil’s shares surged over 6 per cent in London yesterday after the Irish company announced that it had struck oil during exploratory drilling in its licence area in Kenya.
The Irish-based oil and gas exploration group said it had encountered oil in its Ngamia 1 exploration well in licence area 10BB in the Turkana country in Kenya.
Investors plunged for more than five million Tullow shares in London following the news, driving its share price up by 6.6 per cent to close at £15.70 yesterday.
Ngamia was the first prospect tested of a series of planned exploration drills in its licences in Kenya and Ethiopia.
The company said the quality of oil that it encountered was similar to that contained in its Uganda licence area, which it is developing with partners Total and CNOOC Ltd.
The geology of the areas in Kenya and Ethiopia over which it holds licences is also similar to that in Uganda.
Tullow’s exploration director Angus McCoss has described the find as an “excellent start” to its exploration campaign in both east African countries.
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