Tullow Oil has agreed to sell its subsidiary in Gabon to Gabon Oil Co. for $300 million net of tax, according to a March 24 press release.
Last year production from Tullow Oil Gabon’s offshore and onshore field interests averaged about 10,000 bbl/d.
The company is aiming to enter a full sale and purchase agreement during the second quarter. Assuming regulatory approvals for the transaction, it will use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its net debt to $1.15 billion.
One of the fields, Simba, was shut down last March following an incident at the Perenco-operated Becuna platform, which led to fatalities. Perenco resumed operations in August 2024 after implementing operational and engineering controls measures and obtaining the required regulatory approvals.
Also last year in the Simba area, the Sarafina infrastructure-led exploration well found hydrocarbons and is currently undergoing a review of its commercial potential.
Jubilee Field offshore Ghana
At Tullow’s production stronghold offshore Ghana, the Jubilee Field FPSO will undergo planned maintenance shortly, along with upgrades to improve the reliability of the power supply and water injection consistency, according to the company's "2024 Full Year Results" released March 25.
A combination of stable water injection and optimized production measures should slow the rate of decline at the field experienced in the second half of last year, Tullow said.
In May of this year, the Noble Venturer drillship will start a two-well development drilling program (one new producer and one new injector) at Jubilee, and both are expected to go onstream during the third quarter.
Earlier this year, a 4D seismic survey was completed over Jubilee and the Tullow-operated TEN fields that is designed to help improve understanding of pressure and fluid movement in the reservoirs and to support determination of future well locations.
Tullow sees potential for at least two more drilling campaigns on Jubilee within the current license period.
Although recent drilling has encountered reservoir thicknesses close to prognosis, water has broken through in certain producers earlier than had been expected. This suggests that there are still substantial volumes of bypassed oil, and these will be the targets analyzed using the 4D data.
