Half-year revenues expected to fall at Tullow Oil

Company expected to announce revenue of about $800m, down from $1.3bn, in results

The Irish company recently reached a $250m settlement in a long-running tax dispute in the key region of Uganda
The Irish company recently reached a $250m settlement in a long-running tax dispute in the key region of Uganda

Irish-founded oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil is due to report half-year results tomorrow, with the market anticipating revenue of $829 million and operating profit of $160 million.

The company released a trading update earlier this month, indicating that first-half revenues were likely to tumble by nearly 40 per cent year on year.

For the first half of this year, Tullow said total revenue would amount to around $800 million, down from $1.3 billion for the first six months of 2014.

Gross profit is expected to be $300 million for the first half, down from $700 million last year.

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Full-year loss

It has been a difficult for the Irish oil explorer. Last year, it posted its first full-year loss in 15 years after being forced to write down $2.8 billion in relation to asset values.

It was then demoted from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 index, after the fall in oil prices led to a decline in market value.

Things did look up in June when the explorer reached a $250 million (€225 million) settlement in a long-running tax dispute in the key region of Uganda.

However, since then oil production at its Jubilee field which is off Ghana has been hit by technical issues.

The company said it had encountered a problem with its gas compression systems, which had prevented associated gas from being shipped on shore since July 3rd.

The suspension in gas exports has meant that oil production has had to be reduced.

Tullow said it was to review its 2015 production forecast for its Jubilee field due to continued technical difficulties at the site.

The company has also indicated that gas supply is not now expected to resume until mid-August.

Davy Stockbrokers said the impact on full-year 2015 net debt forecast is approximately $15 million-$20 million, assuming the cost of repairs is covered by warranties and/or insurance.