Tullow Oil is targeting to drill four wells in Ghana by the close of the year in an effort to increase production from its Jubilee and TEN fields to offset anticipated near-term output declines.

Addressing investors on the company’s 2020 performance and outlook, Chief Executive Officer Rahur Dhir said, “Given the scale of the resource space and the existing infrastructure, we have identified over 25 wells so far. We will execute a consistent drilling programme, particularly in Jubilee, for the next five years.”

The Maersk Venturer drillship has been contracted to start a multi‐well drilling programme for a minimum period of four years. The rig has arrived in Ghanaian waters and is scheduled to commence drilling in April.

It is expected to drill and complete four wells this year, consisting of two Jubilee production wells, one Jubilee water injector well, and one TEN gas injector well to provide pressure support to two Ntomme oil production wells.

“We expect the two new production wells in Jubilee to add about 8,000 barrels per day (bopd) in the first year, while the water injector will add 8,000 bopd. Similarly, the gas injection at TEN will add about 6,000 bopd to [the production from] the two wells in Jubliee,” Dhir said.

“This well campaign is expected to begin to offset near‐term production decline, and further wells in 2022 will see production materially recover and be sustained for the long term.”

The CEO also noted that the drilling programme incorporates lessons learned from the previous programme and is targeting a 20 to 30 percent reduction in drilling costs through simplified well designs, improved rig reliability, and supply chain savings.