Exploration group Tullow Oil has cut its full-year output target because of a slower-than-expected ramp up from its Jubilee field in Ghana.

Group production for 2011 will average 79,000 to 81,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, Tullow said today in a statement today, below the 82,000 to 84,000 barrels forecast in August. However, Tullow still expects to deliver record cashflows in the second half of the year.

The Jubilee field, Tullow's largest project, is pumping about 80,000 barrels of oil a day, with recent output rates below expectations due to mechanical issues related to well designs.

"While there are some temporary technical issues, in terms of production levels of 120,000 barrels a day and recoverable reserves there is no change," chief financial officer Ian Springett told Bloomberg.

Tullow said it was abandoning the Montserrado-1 well offshore Liberia after failing to find oil. The license is operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Last week, Tullow said it had signed a new product-sharing contract with the government of Mauritania and a number of joint-venture partners.

It will open up 10,725sq km of new exploration territory off the west African country's coast and Tullow to progress with the appraisal and development of existing discoveries.

Tullow Oil today announced the appointment of Simon Thompson as non-executive chairman of the group.