Oil exploration company Tullow says its total revenue for the first half of 2009 is expected to be about £290m sterling. This compares with £378m reported in the first half of 2008.
In a trading statement for the six months to the end of June, the exploration company said the reduction was due to lower sales volumes and the more importantly, the reduction in world commodity prices during the first half of this year.
The company said that its group working interest production for the first six months of 2009 average 59,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), 16% lower than the same time last year. It said that group production for 2009 is now expected to average 58,000.
Tullow said this forecast has been impacted by mixed results from infill wells in the UK, partly offset by higher production in Africa.
Tullow's African interests are in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mauritania, Namibia, Senegal, Angola, Tanzania and Madagascar. It said its portfolio there has continued to perform strongly in the first half of 2009.
Significant discoveries were made in both Ghana and Uganda and 'excellent' progress as been made on the Jubilee Phase 1 development project in Ghana. Production was in line with expectations and averaged 38,500 boepd.
Tullow's producing interests in Europe lie in the Southern Gas Basin of the UK North Sea. It also has offshore exploration interests in the Netherlands and Portugal. In the first six months of the year, net production from the UK averaged 15,100 boepd.
Shares in Tulllow closed down 31 cent at €10.14 in Dublin.
