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Tullow to invest $400 million in Ghana project
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Tullow Oil plans to invest $400 million this year, mainly on its flagship fields in Ghana, the independent oil and gas exploration and production group announced this on Wednesday.
Forecasting its capital expenditure for this year, Tullow said it would invest $300 million in Ghana, $40 million in Gabon, $20 million in Côte d’Ivoire, $10 million in Kenya and $30 million on exploration and appraisal activities.
The company expects free cash flow to come in at $100 million at an oil price of $80 a barrel, or twice that at $100 a barrel, unchanged from previous guidance.
For 2022, free cash flow came in at $267 million, up from $245 million in 2021 and in line with forecasts.
Expatiating on the 2023 outlook for Ghana, Tullow said “completion of Jubilee South East infrastructure in the first half of 2023 will mark the end of the current major infrastructure spend on Jubilee.”
Gross production from Jubilee expected to increase to over 100 kbopd with four new wells at Jubilee South East and a further Jubilee producer onstream later this year.
Tullow forecast decommissioning expenditure of $90 million in the UK and Mauritania, with a further $20 million placed into escrow funds for future decommissioning in Ghana and parts of the non-operated portfolio.
“Decommissioning expenditure is weighted more than 80 per cent to the first half of the year,” Tullow said.
According to the oil company, Jubilee FPSO operations and maintenance (O&M) costs were expected to be 23 per cent lower than in 2021, following O&M transformation undertaken in 2022.
Tullow said it plan to go into a long-term gas sales agreement with the Government of Ghana covering both Jubilee and TEN fields.
Commenting, Mr. Rahul Dhir, Chief Executive Officer, Tullow Oil plc said: “2022 saw Tullow successfully deliver against our business plan.
“A high focus on cost control and a disciplined approach to operational efficiency have driven a very strong performance for the year, with group production in line with guidance and expectations, delivering free cash flow of $267 million, lowering net debt to $1.9 billion and reducing cash gearing to 1.3x net debt to EBITDAX.”
He said, “looking ahead, we have multiple catalysts to deliver further profitable growth. There is strong momentum across the portfolio with the commissioning of Jubilee South East on track for the second half of 2023, bringing undeveloped reserves online and Jubilee gross production to more than 100 kbopd before the end of the year.
“Engagements to secure a strategic partner for the Kenya development project continue and we are preparing a plan of development to monetise the remaining resources at TEN.
“We have created a unique platform of assets and capability, including industry leading safety performance, which positions us strongly to create significant value for all our stakeholders.”
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢5.6 million to the Petroleum Commission to enable it to establish and operate a world-class data centre.
According to the Committee, access to the funds will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to manage critical upstream petroleum data and improve its operations.
Speaking during the appeal, Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, said the move was crucial to efforts to revitalise Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry and increase oil production.
He noted that although investment and hydrocarbon production had declined in recent years, Parliament’s approval of an extension of the petroleum agreement to 2030 had attracted additional funding and contributed to an increase in production from about 80,000 to 120,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over repeated budget allocations for oil exploration in the Voltaian Basin.
Mr. Bedzrah stressed that funds approved for exploration must produce tangible results, adding that the Committee would require clear evidence of progress before supporting future budget allocations for the programme.
The appeal was made during a working visit to the Petroleum Commission as part of the Committee’s oversight activities to assess its operations and management procedures.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, took the Committee through the Commission’s working procedures and mandate, which includes regulating, managing and coordinating upstream petroleum activities.
She disclosed that since assuming office in 2025, government had pursued measures to reverse the decline in crude oil production, sustain output and reposition Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in Africa’s increasingly competitive petroleum sector.
In addition, she said government had secured fresh commitments of about US$35 billion to help revitalise the sector.
As part of the oversight exercise, the Committee is expected to conclude its monitoring visit with engagements at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL).
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
“No civilisation deserves to be annihilated” – Mahama calls for dialogue on global conflicts at UNGA 81
President John Dramani Mahama has called for solidarity and dialogue in resolving global conflicts, insisting that no civilisation deserves to be wiped out.
“No human civilisation deserves to be annihilated, certainly not a member state of the United Nations,” President Mahama stated in his address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He called for solidarity with nations facing terrorism, especially the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and for a uniform approach to conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
On the Middle East, the President called for a return to negotiations, saying “The current Middle East crisis is having a deleterious effect on the world economy.”
“I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most intractable of problems,” he added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
