31st Jan 2008 07:00
Tullow Oil PLC31 January 2008 News release Sale of interest in M'Boundi to the Korea National Oil Company 31 January 2008 - Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces the sale of its 11% interestin the onshore M'Boundi field in Congo (Brazzaville) to the Korea National OilCompany (KNOC) for a total cash consideration of $435 million. The deal, which will involve the sale of Tullow's subsidiary company - TullowCongo Limited, is subject to partner pre-emption and approval from thegovernment of Congo (Brazzaville) and has an effective date of 1 December 2007. The M'Boundi field was discovered in May 2001 by Maurel and Prom and is one ofthe largest oil fields to be found onshore Africa in recent years. Through anactive programme of water injection and production optimisation initiated by theoperator, ENI, current production of approximately 37,000 bopd is expected toincrease through 2008. The M'Boundi field has been an important asset in Tullow's portfolio since theacquisition of Energy Africa in 2004. In the intervening period, the field hasmade a significant contribution to the Group's organic production and reservesgrowth. M'Boundi is now entering a new phase in its development at a time whenTullow is also looking to reallocate capital resources to projects where it hasmore material participation and influence. This transaction provides Tullow withthe financial flexibility to advance its appraisal and development programmes inGhana and Uganda and to continue the development of its business. Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow said: "This is a very exciting time in Tullow's evolution with major work programmesin progress to appraise and commercialise our assets in both Uganda and Ghana.The sale of M'Boundi, as part of our portfolio management strategy, providesTullow with an opportunity to focus resources in core growth areas throughmonetising a valuable non-core asset. M'Boundi is a quality asset and this is anexcellent transaction for both Tullow and KNOC". 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 Martin Jackson Joe MurrayTom Hickey George CazenoveChris Perry 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 100 Index. The Group has interests in over 110exploration and production licences across 23 countries and focuses on four coreareas: Europe, Africa, South Asia and South America. Tullow's European interests are primarily focused on gas in the UK SouthernNorth Sea where it has significant interests in the Caister-Murdoch System andthe Thames-Hewett areas and operates over 70% of its production. In Africa, Tullow has exploration and production in Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire,Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea and two large appraisal and developmentprogrammes in Ghana and Uganda. Tullow also has exploration interests inMauritania, Senegal, Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Madagascar, Namibia and Angola. In South Asia, Tullow has exploration and production in Pakistan and Bangladeshand high impact exploration activities in India. In South America Tullow has high impact exploration interests in Trinidad andTobago, French Guiana and Suriname. For further information please refer to our website at www.tullowoil.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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