Oil exploration group Tullow has adjusted downwards expectations for its its Paon-2A well off the Ivory Coast after hitting wet sands.

The company said the total hydrocarbon column of the field was now only 700 metres.

“The well did not encounter oil at this location, reducing the upside volume potential associated with the Autruche field,” Angus McCoss, exploration director at Tullow said in a statement.

The explorer has found about 4 billion barrels since 2007, unlocking new oil provinces in Uganda, Ghana and French Guyana.

Separately, Fastnet, the Irish listed oil and gas company, has completed a farm-out of its Foum Assaka prospect off the Moroccan coast in a deal worth $30 million.

The company, which holds prospecting licences in Morocco and off the south coast of Ireland, struck a deal with Korean-listed SK Innovation.

Fastnet said its wholly owned subsidiary Pathfinder Hydrocarbon Ventures Limited had signed a farm-out agreement with SK Innovation for a 12.5 per cent paying interest share over four exploration licenses comprising the Foum Assaka offshore contract area.