Tullow: debt down but big risks persist

Last August, Tullow Oil’s (TLW) mammoth TEN project pumped its first oil. Production from the fields now makes up almost three in every 10 barrels sold, just shy of Tullow’s share of output from its first venture offshore Ghana – Jubilee. Although TEN arrived on time and on budget, it wasn’t without major sacrifice. By March, the combination of big upfront costs and sustained low oil prices had left a staggering debt pile, forcing the group into a $750m (£577m) rights issue at a 45 per cent discount to the then trading price.