Exploration group Tullow Oil said it expects a “very positive” performance for the rest of 2008 as record oil and gas prices boost earnings.
"With production in line with expectations, a program of over 25 exploration wells to drill by year-end and optimism over strong oil and gas pricing continuing, the outlook for the remainder of 2008 is very positive," the London-based company said today in a statement.
Tullow rose to a record 943.5 pence on May 6th in London trading after the company said it had discovered a "significant column" of light oil off the coast of Ghana.
The find at the Mahogany-2 well indicates that the Jubilee oil field offshore Ghana extends over at least 11 kilometers (6.8 miles), the London-based company said last week.
Following the announcement, chief executive officer Aidan Heavey said the results are likely to lead to a "material upgrade" of Tullow's current resource estimates.
Tullow plans to focus on projects in Ghana and Uganda, potentially raising output to as much as 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day as soon as 2010, Mr Heavey said earlier this year.
It expects to pump 70,000 to 74,000 barrels a day in 2008. An exploration well drilled by Tullow in Uganda discovered oil and gas, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Tullow shares closed down 1.3 per cent, or 12 pence, at 905 pence in London yesterday. The stock has risen about 39 per cent this year.
Bloomberg