Tullow profits swell on higher oil price

9th Mar 2011 07:09

Africa-focused oil company Tullow Oil ramped up profits in 2010, broadly in line with City expectations, as oil prices jumped by almost a third.Profit before tax soared to $152m from $33m in 2009 and rose 137% to $73m after taxes. Sales revenue was 19% better at $1.09bn.Production fell 200,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to 58,100, but the realised oil price was 30% higher at $78 a barrel. The Jubilee field in Ghana started up in November, producing over 69,000 bopd from five wells. Full production capacity of 120,000 bopd is expected in the next five months as the remaining four production wells are completed and brought on line.That should help group output average between 86,000 and 92,000 boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day) in 2011.Tullow's planned farm down of a two-thirds stake in its Lake Albert rift basin interests to French firm Total and China's CNOOC is ongoing. The company and the Ugandan government are finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)."2011 has started very well with production increasing from Jubilee and continued exploration and appraisal success," chief executive Aidan Heavey said. "With a diverse 40-well E&A campaign planned for 2011, we look forward to another year of significant progress." There's a dividend of 4p a share, making a total of 6p for the year.