(Reuters) -West Africa-focused oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil swung back to profit last year, it said on Tuesday, largely helped by a reduction in impairments and asset revaluation gains.
Shares in the company rose 3.9% in early trade after the company reported profit after tax of $55 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared with a loss of $110 million in 2023 when it cut the value of reserves at one of its West African oilfields.
“There is strong momentum within the business with a return to drilling at (the) Jubilee (field), commencement of production optimisation and reserves maturation activities in Ghana,” interim CEO Richard Miller said in a statement.
Shares in the company had fallen 16.9% in the last 12 months by Monday’s close.
Peel Hunt analysts said Tullow’s 2024 results were broadly in line with expectations, adding that if the company confirmed a permanent CEO, refinanced its bonds and settled its tax disputes, it should “unlock upside” for the year.
In January, the company was exempted from a $320 million tax on its Ghana operations, and Tullow last month appointed finance chief Richard Miller as interim CEO after the company said in December that Rahul Dhir would step down from the role.
On Monday Tullow said it had agreed to sell its entire working interests in Gabon for $300 million in cash, as part of efforts to reduce its debt.
The company said on Tuesday that over the next year, its main objectives would be to move forward with its refinancing plan while also improving production efficiency at its flagship Jubilee field and the TEN project, both in Ghana, and expanding its reserves.
Tullow said its production averaged about 61.2 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd) in 2024, slightly lower than roughly 62.7 kboepd in 2023.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil, Anandita Mehrotra and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Susan Fenton)
