Companies

Tullow Oil profits dip 3pc to Sh58bn

Tullow Oil, the British independent oil and gas exploration and production group and which discovered oil Northern Kenya, has recorded a marginal drop in after tax profits for the one year to December 31, 2012.

Profits stood at $666 million (about Sh58 billion), a 3 per cent drop than previously helped by a successful exploration campaign across most of its 14 operating markets.

“2012 was a year of major progress for Tullow. We materially enhanced the business with a basin-opening oil discovery in Kenya by adding highly prospective new licences in Africa and the Atlantic Margins, refinancing our debt and partially monetising our Ugandan assets,” said Aidan Heavey its chief executive.

“This focus on exploration-led growth, together with active portfolio management and Tullow's strong balance sheet, provides an excellent platform for growth in 2013 and beyond,” he said in a statement posted on the company's website.

The firm has lined up a hectic 2013 exploration programme in Kenya, Ethiopia, Norway, Mauritania, Mozambique, Côte d'Ivoire and French Guiana.