3rd Aug 2006 07:00
Tullow Oil PLC03 August 2006 Tullow Oil plc - International Business Update 3 August 2006 - Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces the award of a 50% interest inBlock 1/06 offshore Angola and first oil from its West Espoir developmentproject. ANGOLA - TULLOW AWARDED 50% INTEREST IN BLOCK 1/06 Formal notice has been received from Sonangol E.P., the National Oil Company ofthe Republic of Angola, that Tullow has been awarded a 50% operating interest inBlock 1/06, a 3,800 sq km oil exploration concession in the Lower Congo Basin,offshore Angola. Tullow expects to enter into a Production Sharing Contract withSonangol E.P. in August 2006. A signature bonus of $US10 million will be payableby the joint venture group. Block 1/06, which extends from a water depth of 40m to approximately 300m,contains three undeveloped oil fields, Pitangueira, Bananeira and Sapesapeiro.Tullow's initial objective will be to evaluate the commerciality of thesediscoveries by drilling two wells on two of the structures in late 2007. Aspart of the further work programme, a 600 sq km 3D seismic survey will beconducted and a third exploration well will be drilled during the firstfour-year period to test prospective intervals. COTE D'IVOIRE - FIRST OIL FROM WEST ESPOIR Oil production from the first West Espoir development well, in which Tullow hasa 21.33% interest, commenced on 26 July 2006. This well, the first of fiveproduction wells, came on stream at a production rate in excess of 5,000 boepd,significantly ahead of expectations. The development project, sanctioned in May 2004, includes a new wellhead towertied back via a 5.5 km pipeline to the Espoir FPSO where fluids produced fromEast and West Espoir are co-mingled and processed using the existing facilities.Together the two fields are currently producing over 35,000 boepd. The rig will now drill four further production wells and two water injectionwells. The West Espoir project remains within budget and is on schedule toreach peak production of 10,000 boepd in late 2007. Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow said: "We are delighted to further expand our offshore Angola portfolio with theaddition of this prospective acreage with both development and explorationopportunities. We look forward to continuing to develop our Angolan businessover the coming months and years. First oil from the West Espoir development continues the strong organicproduction growth already seen from the Group this year, building steadilytowards our target of 75,000 boepd by year end." For further information contact: Tullow Oil plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson Murray Consultants(+44 20 8996 1000) (+44 20 7638 9571) (+353 1 498 0300)Aidan Heavey George Cazenove Joe MurrayChris Perry Nina Soon Notes to Editors Tullow is a leading independent oil & gas, exploration and production group,quoted on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges (symbol: TLW) and is aconstituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Group has interests in approximately 90exploration and production licences in 15 countries and focuses on three coreareas: NW Europe, Africa and South Asia. Tullow's NW Europe interests are primarily focused on gas in the UK SouthernNorth Sea where it has significant interests in the Caister-Murdoch System (CMS)and the Thames/Hewett areas and operates over 60% of its production. In Africa, Tullow has exploration and production in Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo(Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea and a large gas field development andappraisal programme in Namibia. Tullow also has exploration programmes inMauritania, Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda, Madagascar and Angola. In South Asia, Tullow has exploration and production operations in Pakistan andBangladesh and high impact exploration activities in India. For further information please refer to our website at www.tullowoil.com ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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