Mr Awotwi was speaking during the company’s turn of the facts behind the figures programme of the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra.

Since, Tullow and its partners commenced the delivery of the Jubilee project in record time of 40 months, they have invested $16 billion in Ghana delivering around 180,000 barrel of oil per day of production with the potential to deliver more, he said.

He said the overall objective across both fields was to maximise and sustain plateau production, adding that “we need to drill wells to fill both Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) to their maximum capacity and then sustain it”.

He said the company has had good results from the drilling programme so far with all wells being delivered on time and within budget.Mr Awotwi said management made the decision to bring in a second FPSO to accelerate the tie-in of new wells and they would have five new wells online around the end of the year; two at Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) and three at Jubilee.

He said this would enable the company to increase production at TEN to round 80,000 barrels of oil per day and sustain Jubilee at over 100,000 barrel oil per day.The Managing Director said “we are keen to play our part in the current licensing round and we see opportunities for Tullow right across the acreage that is available and we firmly believe and will be making a case to government that we have the skills, expertise, knowledge and history of success to make another major exploration impact in Ghana”.

On Tullow’s contribution to Ghana, he said the Oil and Gas Industry currently contributes around six per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product, which was a strong but not overwhelming contribution in a mixed economy like Ghana’s.

“And that contribution comes in different forms including taxes and royalties, production entitlement to government as well as employment and training of Ghanaians as well indirect and multiplier effects on the economy,” he added.

He said in many ways, Ghana provided a model for how to successfully integrate a new industry like oil and gas into a modern and growing economy.Mr Les Wood, the Chief Financial Officer, Tullow-Ghana said “we have a much improved balance sheet and a much improved macro-economic environment”.

He said over the next 12 months, the company needs to deliver in both West Africa reproduction and in East Africa redevelopment and; “we need to make sure our exploration campaigns have every chance of success.”