Independent producer Tullow Oil reported on Wednesday more than doubled profit after tax for the first half of 2024 amid higher oil and gas production and increased crude oil realizations.
Tullow Oil, which is focused on developing projects in and offshore Africa, booked a profit after tax of $196 million for the first half, up from $70 million for the same period of 2023.
Revenue fell to $759 million from $777 million.
However, Tullow Oil's realized oil price of $77.70 per barrel after hedging was higher than the $73.30 a barrel realized price for the year-ago period.
The company reduced capital expenditure (capex) in the first half of this year and expects to see a period of lower capex in the near term.
Capex in the first half of 2024 was at $157 million, down from $187 million in the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Tullow Oil said that its working interest production is expected to be at the lower end of the 62,000-68,000 barrels per day (bpd) range, as previously guided. The expectation of the lower end of the guidance was driven primarily by the underperformance of a single Jubilee well, which came on stream in February 2024, the company said.
Full-year capex guidance is now revised to about $230 million, down by $20 million compared to the previous guidance of around $250 million in both Ghana and Gabon.
Tullow Oil said it expects "a significant free cash flow uplift" in the second half of 2024. Full-year free cash flow guidance was reiterated at $200 million -$300 million at $80 per barrel oil price.
"We now progress into a period of lower capex in the second half of the year and beyond. We will continue to reduce debt through sustainable free cash flow generation, strengthening our balance sheet and providing optionality for investment, growth and future returns," Tullow Oil's CEO Rahul Dhir said.
Following the results release, shares in Tullow Oil (LON: TLW) were up by 2% as of 12:35 p.m. in London on Wednesday.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More