The Irish-founded, UK-based oil company said average production in 2025 may be as low as 40,000 barrels a day, less than half its output in 2018.
Tullow, which was founded by Irish accountant Aidan Heavey in 1985, went on to become one of the UK stock market’s hottest independent oil explorers after making several major African discoveries in the late 2000s.
By 2012, the business had a market capitalisation of €18bn, boosted by speculation it was on the cusp of being taken over by an oil major, high prices and a string of oil finds.
However, the cost of servicing debts taken on to develop its African interests combined with an oil price slump from 2014 shifted that trajectory dramatically. Shares have fallen from a high of £13 each in 2012 to below 12p each by yesterday.
The shares sank as much as 22pc yesterday, the lowest since April 2020, after the company reported another production decline in first-half results.
“Our 2025 strategic priorities remain clear: refinancing our capital structure, optimising production, increasing reserves and completing the sale of our Kenyan assets,” interim chief executive officer Richard Miller said in a statement.
He sold his vintage cars and mortgaged his house to raise £1m to get the business off the ground
A company spokesperson declined to comment on the share drop, but said Tullow has a long-term strategy for oil production, having signed an agreement with Ghana in June to extend its licenses there to 2040.
Tullow attracted a strong Irish following as it listed in Dublin and London, as shareholders bet on Mr Heavey.
The former Aer Lingus accountant set up Tullow Oil after learning of opportunities to exploit small fields considered uneconomic by oil majors.
Accountant Aidan Heavey, who set up Tullow in 1985. Photo: Bloomberg
The native of Roscommon sold his vintage cars and mortgaged his house to raise £1m to get the business off the ground and initially targeted Senegal in west Africa.
He led the business for decades as it expanded into a significant player in the sector, before stepping down as CEO in 2017 aged 64, having stayed on as the firm struggled with the fallout of plunging oil prices in 2014 and 2015.
More recently, Tullow has struggled to bring Kenyan fields onstream. This year it agreed to sell the Kenyan deposits and offloaded assets in Gabon.
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