Exploration company Tullow Oil has said it has enough money to weather a collapse in oil prices and expects the startup of a major oil project in Ghana this summer to replenish its coffers.
The Africa-focused oil company said it entered 2016 with $1.9 billion in undrawn bank facilities, giving it the option to tap more money if needed.
It was also able to shave another $200m off its $1.1 billion capital investment budget.
"We make money at $30 a barrel because we have low-cost fields, the question is just how much. Our job is to cut costs," Tullow's chief executive Aidan Heavey told Reuters.
Tullow's balance sheet had been stress tested at $25 a barrel and that even at oil prices at this level the producer had sufficient liquidity to survive, he added.
Oil prices have fallen close to 12-year lows, intensifying a decline since the middle of 2014 due to a global oversupply in crude oil.
This decline meant Tullow booked impairments and exploration write-offs totalling $1.15 billion last year but said it expected full-year gross profit of $600m on revenue of $1.6 billion.
The company will publish final results on February 10.
Tullow also said net debt was expected to be $4 billion, lower than many analysts had forecast, lifting its shares.
Tullow's TEN project is expected to start producing first oil between July and August, a turning point for the company that marks the end of its major financial commitments.
The TEN startup means Tullow expects 2016 West Africa oil output to average 73,000-80,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up from 66,000 barrels last year.
