The Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil PLC, Paul McDade has disclosed that the board of the company will today, April 26 ask shareholders to approve the Group’s first dividend payment since 2014.
In a statement issued in advance of the Group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is being held in London at 12 pm April 25, Mr McDade said the new dividend policy of the company is expected to deliver at least $100 million per year to shareholders.
He said the move is a reflection of the financial and operational progress that Tullow has made over the past few years.
He said: "At today’s AGM, the Board will be asking Tullow shareholders to approve the Group’s first dividend payment since 2014. This 2018 final dividend and our new dividend policy, which is expected to deliver at least $100 million per year to shareholders, reflect the financial and operational progress that Tullow has made over the past few years.
"Oil production from our West African portfolio is currently running at 95,000 bopd after a short-term production issue in the first quarter and is due to grow in the second half of the year and beyond. In South America, our exploration team is busy preparing for our exciting exploration campaign in Guyana.â€
Tullow Oil cuts 2019 output guidance
Tullow Oil downgraded its 2019 output guidance to 90,000-98,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) due to problems at its Ghana fields and sees final go-aheads for its Uganda in the second half while its Kenya project timeline was “ambitiousâ€.
“(Ghana) performance was below expectations due to gas compression constraints on Jubilee during February and a delay in completing the Enyenra-10 production well at the TEN field. Both issues have now been resolved,†Tullow said on Thursday.
It had previously expected to produce between 93,000 and 101,000 bpd.
“The ~3 percent reduction in 2019 net production guidance provides a headline, but should not concern investors in our view,†Barclays said in a note.
With much focus on Tullow’s three-well drilling programme offshore Guyana, this year is also crunch time for Tullow’s East African projects.
Final investment decisions for its Ugandan project had been planned around mid-year and Kenya by the end of the year, which Tullow called “an ambitious target†on Thursday.