Tullow Oil H1 output up 1 pct, cuts 2008 guidance to...

Tullow Oil H1 output up 1 pct, cuts 2008 guidance to 70,000-72,000 boepd UPDATE
9-JUL-2008 08:28

WHAT SHARE PRICE FOR TULLOW IN 2010 AS THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE LAST PARAGRAPH SAYS 120,000 BARRELS PER DAY.
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Tullow Oil Plc said it raised production for the first half of 2008 by 1 percent to 70,550 barrels of oil equivalent per day but reduced its guidance for the year to 70,000 to 72,000 boepd.

In January, the group said it is aiming to pump 70,000 to 74,000 boepd in 2008 after achieving a 13 percent rise in 2007 output to 73,100 boepd.

Tullow also upgraded its capital spending guidance for 2008 to 480 million pounds from 400 million pounds as it accelerates drilling work on the Jubilee field in Ghana.

Tullow said it expects 400 million pounds in post-tax profit from the $1 billion pounds of asset disposals it announced in the first half.

Around 15 million pounds of the gains from asset sales, which included its 11 percent stake in the M'Boundi field in Congo and certain projects in the North Sea, will be reflected in the first half results. Net debt was 420 million pounds at end-June, while the group's unutilised debt capacity was in excess of $400 million

Tullow sold the M'Boundi stake to the Korea National Oil Co for $435 million in cash. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

Exploration write-off for the first half, mainly relating to ongoing exploration work in the UK and Mauritania, is expected at around 25 million pounds, the company said.

Tullow reiterated the Mahogany-2 well on the Jubilee field in Ghana confirmed the site's potential resources of 500 million to 1.8 billion barrels. Development planning for Jubilee is progressing 'rapidly' towards sanction, with first oil remaining on track with its 2010 target. The first phase of the project will consist of 15 wells tied back to a floating production storage and off-take vessel with a minimum production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, it said.