Tullow says it is interested in taking up stake in the new oil blocks that would be sold by government later this year.

Government earlier this year announced that it is working to start auctioning blocks on the country’s new oil fields in the last quarter of this year.

It has subsequently; establish a committee to work out the modalities that would guide the auction process.

Speaking to JoyBusiness, the Visiting Group Chief Executive of Tullow, Paul Mcdade said the move is meant to consolidate its stake in the oil business in Ghana, adding that it has nothing to do with the perception that Jubilee and TEN may not be holding enough oil deposits to make up for its investments. 

Mr. Mcdade said “both fields are doing well with significant deposits and we are even looking at bringing in another rig to deal with this development” he added.

Finalizing work on Jubilee Turret bearing

The oil exploration firm over the years has struggled to complete works on the machine used to extract oil from the seabed.

This has forced to postpone it on several occasions, with the latest projections pegged at end of 2018.

Speaking to JOYBUSINESS visiting Chief Executive, Paul Madade says they are sure about finalizing on the turret bearing this time round.

Production on the jubilee has currently down. This is the help with works on the Jubilee field which would last for three weeks. The frequent shutdown had impacted negatively on power production.

But for the latest shutdown, Volta River Authority and Electricity Company of Ghana has assured that there would not be any challenge with power supply.   

Key developments on the Jubilee and TEN fields    

- Tullow performed very well during 2017 both operationally and financially and this strong performance is continuing in 2018.

- The company has delivered record oil production across the Group with particularly good performance from the Jubilee and TEN assets in Ghana.

- Tullow is delivering stable gas production from both the Jubilee and TEN fields and is making a significant contribution to domestic power generation in Ghana.

- A combination of a strong financial and operational performance and, more recently, a rising oil price has enabled Tullow to reduce its overall debt by around a third, placing the company on a robust financial footing for growing the business going forward.

- Following the ITLOS ruling in late 2017 and the approval of the Greater Jubilee Full Field Development Plan, the company is now focusing on growing its production in Ghana.

- To achieve this, Tullow has mobilised the Maersk Venturer rig which commenced drilling early in 2018. Two wells have already been drilled and a third well is ongoing. Production from the first well at TEN is expected to commence early in the second half of the year. A second rig is currently being considered by the partnership to further accelerate production and cash flow.

- The Joint Venture partners expect to spend over $500 million of capital in Ghana this year.

- Tullow is now in the final stages of the Turret Remediation Project at Jubilee which is progressing well and expects to rotate the FPSO into its final position at the end of the year.