11th Jul 2007 07:00
Tullow Oil PLC11 July 2007 News Release Tullow Oil plc - Trading Statement and Operational Update 11 July 2007 - Tullow Oil plc ("Tullow") issues this Trading Statement inrespect of the first half of the 2007 financial year and this Operational Updatein respect of recent Production, Development and Exploration activities. The Trading Statement is in advance of the Group's Interim Results, which arescheduled for release on Tuesday, 4 September 2007. The information containedherein has not been audited and is subject to further review. HIGHLIGHTS Exploration • Ghana - Mahogany discovery - recent technical work indicates that there is significant further upside potential above current market estimates and a material proportion of the trap is within the Deepwater Tano block.• Accelerated Ghana programme - the Belford Dolphin drill ship has been secured to drill a further well in the Deepwater Tano block in August this year.• Uganda - Nzizi-2 - this appraisal well confirms the lateral extent of oil bearing reservoir sands and tests an additional accumulation of gas at 14mmscfd.• Uganda - rig contracted to drill the Ngassa and Kingfisher-2 wells later this year.• Namibia - Kudu East appraisal campaign - the Kudu-8 well has commenced and is currently drilling at 2,652m. The well is intended to test the multi-tcf upside potential and is expected to reach the reservoir target at the end of July and start testing in August. Production and Development • Working interest production averaged 69,700 boepd for the first half of 2007, 11% higher than the same period in 2006.• Production across the portfolio has been close to expectation with the exception of the UK where delays to drilling programmes and the reallocation of capital, principally to Ghana and Uganda, have resulted in a reduction to 2007 production forecasts.• The recent West Espoir (Cote d'Ivoire) and Okume Complex (Equatorial Guinea) developments continue to deliver above expectation. The Thurne and Kelvin development projects in the UK are on schedule for first production in Q4 2007.• Working interest production for the Group is currently 75,000 boepd and is now expected to average 72-75,000 boepd for 2007. Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow said: "Tullow's business has reached a new level in terms of scale and opportunity inthe first half of 2007. The Mahogany well in Ghana has provided the Group'slargest ever discovery, we have recorded excellent results from Uganda and ourAfrican assets have delivered a strong production performance. Future capitalallocation will be focused on optimising returns and accelerating activities onthese high impact projects leading to a reduction in near term UK programmes andproduction. Our key campaigns are delivering and we are confident of furthersuccess in the second half of the year." Conference Calls In conjunction with this announcement Tullow has scheduled two conference calls.Details are included at the end of the release. Trading Statement Production Group working interest production for the first half of 2007 averaged 69,700boepd, 11% higher than the 2006 average. Sales volumes for the first half of2007 averaged 61,500 boepd. A further breakdown of these figures is provided inthe Operational Update for each core area. Production figures remain subject to final reconciliation and do not equate tosales volumes. This is due to variations in lifting schedules and because aportion of the production is delivered to host governments under the terms ofProduction Sharing Contracts. Following drilling delays on the Ketch field and the decision by Tullow toterminate the Ensco 101 rig contract early due to a high rig rate, weaker gaspricing and reallocation of capital, the average 2007 UK production forecast hasbeen reduced to 28,000 boepd. This has resulted in a revised average Groupworking interest production forecast for 2007 of 72-75,000 boepd. Realised prices and oil discount Average prices realised during the first half of 2007 continue to be strong.Realised oil price was approximately US$61/bbl (pre hedges) and US$57/bbl (posthedges) and realised UK gas price was approximately 24p/therm (pre hedges) and36p/therm (post hedges). During the first half of 2007 the Group's oil production sold at an averagediscount of approximately 3% to Brent and this level of discount is expected tocontinue for the remainder of 2007. Overlift position At 30 June 2007, Tullow was in a net overlift position amounting to an estimated57,000 barrels, a reduction of 72,000 barrels since 31 December 2006. Movementsin overlift positions are recorded at market value and, combined with stockmovements during the period, give rise to a credit of approximately £2.6 millionto Cost of Sales. Exploration Write-Off Tullow's exploration write-off for the first half of 2007 is expected to be ofthe order of £13.0 million. This write-off is principally associated withunsuccessful exploration activities in the UK and new ventures activity duringthe period. Capital Expenditure Exploration and appraisal success during the first half has led to additionalprogrammes and an upgrade to the full year expenditure forecast. Planned capitalinvestment during 2007 is now approximately £400 million. This investment willbe split 60% on production and development activities in the UK, Congo(Brazzaville), Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Bangladesh andPakistan with the balance focused on exploration activities. Future capitalallocation will be focused on optimising returns and accelerating activities onhigh potential projects within the Group's international portfolio. Net Debt Net debt at 30 June 2007 was £505.4 million. The increase since the year-end wasdue to drawdowns under the debt facility to partially fund the Hardmanacquisition which completed in early January 2007. Derivative Instruments At 30 June 2007 the Group's derivative instruments had a net negative mark tomarket value of approximately £56.0 million. Commodity Hedging While all of the Group's commodity derivative instruments currently qualify forhedge accounting, a charge of approximately £14.0 million (£10.0 million aftertaxation credits) will be recognised in the income statement for the first halfof 2007. Most of the charge relates to the unfavourable movement in thenon-intrinsic (or time value) component of the oil hedges, most notably collarstructures. These are largely due to the Brent forward oil prices improvingsince the beginning of the year thereby conferring greater potential value tothe Group's hedge counterparties. Commodity Hedging Summary At 4 July 2007 the Group's hedge position to the end of 2009 was as follows: Oil* 2H-07 2008 2009Volume hedged (bopd) 20,400 15,800 10,000Average price of hedged volumes ($/bbl) 62.9 61.5 54.6 *Oil hedges include a legacy Energy Africa position of 4,000 bopd at $29.30until end 2009 Gas 2H-07 2008 2009Volume hedged (mmscfd) 88.8 61.2 16.4Average value hedged volumes (p/therm) 39.5 44.3 43.1 Operational Update 1) EUROPE CORE AREA Tullow's principal interests in Europe are in the Southern Gas Basin of the UKNorth Sea. During the first half of 2007 Tullow completed a re-development wellon the Ketch field and commenced the development of the Kelvin and Thurne fieldswhich are due to come on stream in the second half of 2007. Working interest production(1) H1 2007 Average (boepd) Current Production (boepd) CMS Area 14,700 17,800Thames-Hewett Area 12,320 10,700UK Total 27,020 28,500 (1) Includes condensate Europe Production and Development UK During the first half of 2007, UK production averaged 27,020 boepd, 3% lowerthan the corresponding period in 2006. This reduction was driven by delayedcompletion of redevelopment wells within the Ketch field, conservativeproduction management in response to weaker gas pricing and planned maintenanceshutdowns occurring in June. During 2007, Tullow has reduced its overallcapital allocation to the UK, reflecting the more attractive opportunitiesavailable elsewhere in the portfolio and we expect this trend to continue. With the exception of Ketch, production from the Thames-Hewett area and theother CMS assets has been close to our expectations. The re-development of the Schooner (Tullow 90.35%) and Ketch (Tullow 100%)fields continued with the drilling of the Ketch-9 well. The well reached adepth of 15,810 ft in May and has penetrated 320 ft of good reservoir sands. Itwas brought on stream on 27 June at an initial rate of 23 mmscfd. The Ketch-9well also successfully appraised the south-western flank of the field,confirming the presence of undepleted reservoir sands and the potential foradditional reserves, however these sands are not being accessed by the currentwell. Development of the south-western flank and the sidetrack and completion ofKetch-8, which was previously drilled in the fourth quarter of 2006 encounteringgood quality gas-bearing reservoir sands, will now be completed as part of afollow-up drilling programme. The timing of this programme will be determinedbased on future operating and fiscal conditions in the Southern Gas Basin. Following project sanction in 2006, the Kelvin and Thurne developments areprogressing to plan. The Kelvin (Tullow 22.5%) jacket and topsides weresuccessfully installed during May 2007 and the Ensco 80 rig is expected tocommence drilling the development well in mid-July. First gas is currentlyexpected in December 2007 with an anticipated initial gross production rate of80 mmscfd. The Tullow operated Thurne project (Tullow 87%), which is a single wellsatellite tie-back to the Thames complex has been successfully drilled andtested. The project is on schedule to produce first gas in August 2007 at agross rate of approximately 50 mmscfd. Work also continues on the K4 discovery (Tullow 22.5%) and a proposal for thedevelopment of the field as a tie-back to the ongoing Kelvin development isexpected during the third quarter 2007. The Wissey field development (Tullow62.5%) was sanctioned in May 2007 with first gas expected in August 2008. Thedevelopment will involve the drilling of a single sub-sea well which will betied back to the Tullow-operated Horne & Wren facilities with initial grossproduction expected to be approximately 55 mmscfd. Europe Exploration and New Ventures UK In the first half of 2007, exploration wells were drilled on the Peveril andAcer prospects in the Central North Sea and both were unsuccessful. Anexploration well on the Harrison gas prospect, adjacent to recent discoveries onKelvin and K4, will commence drilling in mid-July. The final three wells in the2007 campaign on the Doris, Aster and Morpheus prospects have been deferred andare likely to form part of the 2008 programme. In February, Tullow was awarded six exploration blocks in the 24th offshorelicensing round. Four of the blocks lie in the Group's Thames-Hewett Area andtwo in the CMS Area. Tullow plans to acquire seismic data as a part of a fullevaluation of the potential of this acreage. Portugal In February 2007, Tullow was awarded three blocks in the undrilled AlentejoBasin off the southwest coast of Portugal. A detailed 2D seismic infillprogramme across the acreage is planned for 2008. 2) AFRICA CORE AREA Tullow's African production and development interests are in Gabon, Coted'Ivoire, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Namibia andUganda. Tullow also has exploration interests in Mauritania, Gabon, Senegal,Cameroon, Uganda, Angola, Tanzania, Madagascar, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Congo(DRC). In the first half of 2007 Tullow continued to invest in its producing anddevelopment assets, which delivered strong production growth and performance.Tullow's Africa production is now expected to average 40,000 boepd in 2007. Theexploration programme has also delivered significant discoveries in both Ugandaand Ghana. Working interest production H1 2007 Average (boepd) Current Production (boepd) Congo (Brazzaville) 5,760 5,400Cote d'Ivoire 5,980 7,000Equatorial Guinea 9,990 12,700Mauritania 3,210 2,300Gabon Tchatamba 5,530 5,200 Niungo 5,480 5,700 Other Gabon 3,260 3,900Africa Total 39,210 42,200 Africa Production and Development Congo (Brazzaville) Average gross production from the M'Boundi field (Tullow 11%) for the first sixmonths of 2007 was 52,300 bopd from 56 production wells. Water injection intothe field commenced in January 2007 and the current injection rate is 8,000 bwpdinto four wells. Eight water injectors have been drilled to date and injectionis expected to increase to 60,000 bwpd by year-end. An initiative to optimisefield recovery was recently launched by the new operator, ENI. This programmeaims to preserve reservoir energy by limiting gas production and acceleratingthe water injection programme. While this has very positive long-term value, inthe near term it is likely to result in lower average production rates of 45,000bopd during the second half of 2007. Equatorial Guinea In the first half of 2007 two infill production wells and two water injectionwells were drilled and completed on the Ceiba field (Tullow 14.25%). Averagegross production of over 42,000 bopd exceeded expectations, primarily as aconsequence of better water injection performance and reservoir pressuremanagement. Two further producers and one injector are scheduled to be drilledin the last quarter of 2007. First oil from the Okume Complex (Tullow 14.25%) was achieved in December 2006.To date, nine production wells and three water injectors have been drilled usingtwo rigs. Production performance has been extremely encouraging due to lowerthan expected initial facility downtime and better reservoir performance,particularly on the Elon field. Current production is approximately 40,000 bopdfrom eight wells and will increase steadily to a plateau of 60,000 bopd in 2008.In the second half of the year, four production wells will be drilled from theOkume/Ebano platform and three water injection wells will be drilled from thewesternmost Elon platform. Cote d'Ivoire A workover programme on East Espoir (Tullow 21.33%) has successfully enhancedproduction from two high water cut wells. The West Espoir (Tullow 21.33%)drilling programme has continued ahead of schedule and to date, five productionwells have been completed, resulting in current production levels from bothEspoir fields of around 32,000 boepd. Four further West Espoir production wellsare planned in the second half of 2007. Mauritania The first Chinguetti field (Tullow 19.01%) infill well, C-18, came on productionon 14 March 2007. This well has produced steadily averaging around 4,000 bopd.Chinguetti gross field production for the first half of 2007 averaged 17,000bopd, however following a recent two day shutdown of the field, production iscurrently around 12,000 bopd due to gas lift problems. Operations are under wayto restore production to pre-shutdown rates. A 3D and 4D seismic survey of the Chinguetti field was conducted in March 2007to establish better subsurface definition of the field and to examine the effectof fluid behaviour within the reservoir since the start of production. Thiswill allow optimal location of further infill wells which are now planned forearly 2008. This was followed by a 3D survey of the nearby Tiof field (Tullow21.6%) to gain improved subsurface definition as input to feasibility planningfor the field. Gabon Production from Gabon in the first half of 2007 averaged 14,000 bopd and iscurrently approximately 15,000 bopd including the assets acquired in Septemberlast year. The new phase of appraisal and development drilling on the Niungo field (Tullow40%) has enabled gross field production to be maintained at between 14,000 and15,000 bopd. The rig is currently undergoing modifications but will return inAugust/September to drill an exploration well on the M'Pano prospect in theadjacent Nziembou Licence and further Niungo field development wells. Tchatamba(Tullow 25%) production was erratic in the first half of 2007 due to electricaland mechanical problems, however it is now stable at around 22,000 bopd gross.The Avouma field (Tullow 7.5%) in the Etame block, commenced production inJanuary 2007 and is now contributing around 6,700 bopd to the Etame Areaproduction of around 21,000 bopd. On the exploration front, technical work is ongoing on the three Tullow-operatedoffshore exploration licences, Azobe, Kiarsseny and Akoum, in preparation for aplanned 2008 drilling campaign. In addition, other potentially attractiveexploration opportunities are being examined with a view to expanding ourexposure to opportunities onshore Gabon. Africa Exploration and New Ventures Uganda Following four successful exploration wells drilled in Block 2 in 2006, theKingfisher prospect in Block 3A was drilled and tested in early 2007. The wellintersected three significant oil-bearing intervals and tested a total of 14,000bopd. The well did not reach the primary Kingfisher deep target, a prospect with500 million barrel upside potential, which has now been significantly de-riskedwith the discovery of oil at two shallower intervals and will be drilled inearly-2008. 3D seismic is currently being shot over the Kingfisher area todelineate the discovery and to define further targets for appraisal andexploration drilling. In Block 2, a three well appraisal programme in the Kaiso-Tonya area commencedin May with the drilling of the Nzizi-2 well. This appraisal well was successfulin confirming sand development and oil accumulations to the southwest ofNzizi-1, along with the presence of very productive dry gas. The well encountered four hydrocarbon bearing zones. The deepest zone at 950m isa high-risk basement play, which is believed to occur extensively across theAlbertine Basin. This zone did not flow oil on simple test, nonetheless thisoil bearing play is still considered a significant long-term upside explorationobjective. The second zone, a 2m oil bearing sand was sampled during logging andindicated moveable oil in a reservoir with high permeability. The third zone, a5m thick zone at 800m, flowed dry gas at a rate of 14 mmscfd. Opportunities toutilise the gas as an energy input for the Early Production System will now bestudied. A fourth zone, 4m thick at 675m, flowed oil though the reservoirpressures at this depth are not sufficient to produce to surface withoutartificial lift. The rig will now move to Mputa-3 then Mputa-4 to appraise and test the Mputafield area. This data will be integrated with new 3D seismic data that will havebeen acquired by year-end. A more powerful rig, the Nabors 221, is being mobilised to Uganda to drill theNgassa-1 exploration well in September 2007 and the Kingfisher-2 well at the endof the year. The seals in the Ngassa prospect have also been de-risked by thepresence of effectively trapped gas in Nzizi-2. This structure has upsidepotential of 900 million barrels at a depth of 4000m. Elsewhere in Uganda, leads have been identified in the Waki-Butiaba area furthernortheast in Block 2 and in neighbouring Block 1 through the ongoing 2D seismicprogramme. A review of oil migration pathways has de-risked some of the leadsand the recent seismic survey demonstrates analogues to the successful traps inthe Kaiso-Tonya area. Infill seismic is being acquired to refine drillingprospects and a light rig is being considered to start an exploration campaignin this area in early 2008. Namibia Agreement was reached in April 2007 to sell Itochu Corporation a 20% interest inthe Kudu Production Licence No. 001, which contains the Kudu gas field. To earnthe 20% interest, Itochu will pay 40% of the cost of two appraisal wells. Inaddition, Itochu will make further financial payments depending on the ultimatevolume of reserves developed and will provide Tullow with beneficial developmentfinancing for the project. After receiving partner and Government approvals,the assignment agreement was signed on 27 June 2007 with an effective date of 1January 2007. The two-well appraisal programme, which commenced in May, aims to establishcommercially productive flow rates from the extensive Kudu East reservoiroriginally tested by the Kudu-5 well in 1998. If potentially commercial flowrates are achieved, a multi-tcf upside play will be substantially de-risked,thereby increasing the development options available for the Kudu field. Todate, the first well, Kudu-8, has drilled to a depth of 2,652m and should reachthe reservoir target at the end of July and total depth in mid-August, afterwhich it will be tested. Discussions are under way with Nampower and Eskom with a view to combining thepreviously planned Gas to Power project with a pipeline to South Africa to allowdirect gas export. Ghana The high impact Mahogany-1 exploration well offshore the Republic of Ghana wasdrilled to a total depth of 3,826m. The well, which represents the largest everdiscovery offshore Ghana, has been suspended for potential re-entry and thedrill ship moved off location on 29 June. The well has discovered a significant accumulation of 37 degrees API oil in a large stratigraphic trap which straddles both the West Cape Three Points (Tullow22.9%) and Deepwater Tano Blocks (Tullow 49.95%). The well has encountered agross hydrocarbon column of 270m and net stacked pay of 95m and did notencounter a definitive oil-water contact. Pressure and sampling data from thewell indicates that a production well at this location would be capable offlowing in excess of 15,000 bopd. Since the initial discovery, additional technical work has been undertaken totie the well data to the 3D seismic data that covers both blocks. Remapping thetrap, incorporating the well data and calibrating a pronounced seismic amplitudeanomaly indicate that there is the likelihood of significant further upsidepotential and that a material proportion of this accumulation is likely to belocated within the Deepwater Tano block. The discovery now needs to be appraised with further drilling and the jointventure plans to accelerate the programme by securing the Belford Dolphin drillship to drill a well in the Deepwater Tano block this August. Further drillingactivity is also under consideration on both the West Cape Three Points andDeepwater Tano blocks for later in the year. Tullow is also investigating the follow-on potential in the region. Technicalwork is ongoing to understand the implications of the Mahogany discovery fornumerous other prospects in both blocks already identified on 3D seismic. Theprospects will then be considered for inclusion in a campaign for this region in2008. Elsewhere in Ghana, an appraisal well on the North Tano (Tullow 31.5%) oil/gasdiscovery on the Shallow Water Tano licence is planned for August. 3) SOUTH ASIA CORE AREA In South Asia, Tullow has exploration, development and production interests inPakistan and Bangladesh and exploration interests in India. The FieldDevelopment Plan for the Bangora/Lalmai field was approved by the BangladeshGovernment in May 2007. In India and Pakistan plans are under way for amulti-well exploration drilling campaign to commence later this year. Working interest production H1 2007 Average (boepd) Current Production (boepd) Pakistan 220 400Bangladesh 3,210 3,500South Asia Total 3,430 3,900 South Asia Production and Development Bangladesh Following the Declaration of Commerciality on the Bangora/Lalmai field (Tullow30%) in December 2006, the Bangora-5 well was spudded in early January 2007. Thewell encountered gas in all reservoir horizons and flowed at a maximum rate of73 mmscfd and has now been successfully completed and tied into the main Bangoraproduction facility. Three wells are now available for production and the flowrate has increased to 70 mmscfd. The Field Development Plan for Bangora/Lalmaiwas approved by the authorities in May 2007, and plans are underway for the nextphase of development. Pakistan Construction of the Chachar Gas Plant (Tullow 75%) is nearing completion andcommissioning has now commenced, with gas introduced for testing the system on 8July 2007. It is anticipated that gas production at a gross rate ofapproximately 25 mmscfd will commence towards the end of the month. South Asia Exploration and New Ventures Pakistan Processing and interpretation of data from the Kohat Block (Tullow 40%) has beencompleted and has resulted in the identification of two material drillableprospects. Work on preparation for a drilling programme, to commence in Q4 2007,is well advanced. Plans have also been formulated to commence work on theKalchas Block (Tullow 30%) later this year. India Exploration on Block CB-ON/1 (Tullow 50%) in the Cambay Basin is one of Tullow'sfour key campaigns for 2007. Processing and interpretation of data covering anumber of prospects has been completed and several drilling locations have beenidentified. Planning is well advanced for a drilling campaign in the fourthquarter of 2007 to test a variety of play types which occur to the north andsouth of the CB-ON/1 block. A seismic infill programme is currently under waywith a view to working up some additional identified leads into drillableprospects. Bangladesh In Block 17 & 18, a 3 year licence extension was approved by the Government inMarch 2007, together with an assignment of 60% equity to Total. Plans are welladvanced to conduct a 3D seismic programme in late 2007 / early 2008. 4) SOUTH AMERICA CORE AREA In the West Atlantic, Tullow has exploration interests in Suriname and FrenchGuiana and has been invited to negotiate Production Sharing Contracts for twokey blocks offered in Trinidad's 6th exploration licensing round. South America Exploration and New Ventures Trinidad Tullow was the successful bidder for two blocks offered in Trinidad's 6thexploration licensing round. Negotiations are in progress to agree ProductionSharing Contracts for these blocks. Tullow, as operator, bid jointly with Centrica for offshore Block 2a/b (Tullow32.5%). This 1,605km2 block lies off the East Coast of Trinidad in shallow waterand is on trend with a number of producing oil and gas fields, notably theAngostura development. The 1,193 km2 Guayaguayare Block (Tullow 65-80%) with both offshore and onshoreacreage lies in southeast Trinidad and is adjacent to a number of producing oilfields. Suriname Tullow executed Production Sharing Contracts for two onshore blocks in Surinameon 13 February and has a 36.5% working interest in each. The Uitkijk and Coronieblocks have a total area of 3,326 km2 and lie adjacent to the country's mainproducing oil field, Tambaredjo. Exploration drilling in the Uitkijk block isanticipated to commence this month. French Guiana Tullow holds a 77.5% working interest in French Guiana's sole offshore licence.The licence is areally extensive (35,221 km2) and contains the large Matamataprospect. Plans are currently being advanced for a deep-water exploration well. ENDS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tullow Oil plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson Murray Consultants(+44 20 8996 1000) (+44 207 638 9571) (+353 1 498 0300)Aidan Heavey George Cazenove Joe MurrayTom HickeyChris Perry CONFERENCE CALLS Conference calls hosted by Aidan Heavey (Chief Executive), Paul McDade (ChiefOperating Officer), Angus McCoss (General Manager Exploration) and Tom Hickey(Chief Financial Officer) will be held today at 09:30 (BST) and 15:00 (BST): 09:30 UK/European Conference Call For UK and international participants please call +44(0)20 7806 1950 and requestto be connected to the Tullow Oil teleconference. For participants in Ireland, please call +353(0)1 655 8885 A replay facility will be available from one hour after the conference call forseven days. Please call +44(0)20 7806 1970, access code: 7374165#. 15:00 US Conference Call Please call +1 480 293 1744 and request to be connected to the Tullow Oilteleconference. A replay facility will be available from one hour after the conference call forseven days. Please call +1 303 590 3030, access code: 3757574 Disclaimer This announcement contains certain operational and financial information inrelation to the first half of 2007 that is subject to final review and has notbeen audited. Furthermore it contains certain forward-looking statements thatare subject to the usual risk factors and uncertainties associated with the oil& gas exploration and production business. Whilst the Group believes theexpectations reflected herein to be reasonable, the actual outcome may bematerially different owing to factors either within or beyond the Group'scontrol, and accordingly no reliance may be placed on the figures contained insuch forward looking statements. 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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