Tullow Oil Shares Soar

VENTURES AFRICA - Tullow Oil (TLW.L) shares added 97p to £15.70 shooting to the top of the FTSE 100 after reports of Kenya’s first oil discovery at its Ngamia-1 well in Turkana region of the country.

Tullow has been carrying our oil exploration is several parts of Africa. In 2010, it celebrated with Ghanaians as the first oil on the Jubilee field FPSO, offshore Ghana was produced. It also has drilling operation in other East African states – Uganda and Ethiopia.

‘Tullow trades at a premium to a historical 15% premium to net asset value. We need greater comfort on resolution of well completion issues at Jubilee and development plans in Uganda before taking a more positive stance.’ said Sanjeev Bahl, an analyst at Numis, who kept his view of the stock at ‘hold’.

According to the company’s website “The Group’s financial performance has also been strong with record results for the year based on a 35% increase in production and significantly higher commodity prices helping to deliver a profit after tax increase of 670% to $689 million. Tullow now has a strong balance sheet providing financial flexibility and a solid foundation for future growth.”

The company recorded over $1bn profit before tax in 2011.

As Africa’s leading independent oil company continues to expand its operations and investments in Africa, the horizon looks better as the first quarter of 2012 ends on a high.