Tullow finds crude again
Tullow Oil, the Africa-focused explorer, said yesterday it had made another crude discovery at its Kigogole-1 well in the Butiaba region of Uganda.
Tullow, which holds more exploration licences than any other British firm in Africa, said that the well was drilled to a total depth of 616 metres and found two oil zones.
The firm said the find is the shallowest section where oil has been encountered in Uganda to date, making the oil cheaper to extract.
Tullow, led by chief executive Aidan Heavey, has been on a great run this year, discovering oil in a number of its wells in Uganda and Ghana.
Heavey said: “Kigogole is the fifth successive discovery in the Butiaba region within the last five months – an excellent record of geological success and operational efficiency.”
He added: “This discovery reinforces the high potential of this area and in particular the Victoria Nile delta region. The success in shallow horizons at Kigogole has very positive implications for the remainder of the Butiaba campaign.”
Tullow said that test drilling at the Kigogole-1 well will now be suspended, as the firm moves on to test sites in other parts of Uganda.
Tullow Oil reported an almost 250 per cent rise in first half net profit to £126m last month, due to high oil prices. The explorer added that it had boosted oil and gas production by 1 per cent to 70,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the first six months of the year. The firm said in August it was confident of finding enough oil to justify construction of a pipeline from Uganda through Kenya to the Indian Ocean.