Tullow Oil, the London-listed oil exploration company, today reported that its pre-tax profits almost doubled to £187.3m in the first half of this year, boosted by higher oil and gas prices.

The company said it produced the equivalent of 70,550 barrels of oil per day in the first half, up 1% from a year earlier, and said it expected an average of 68,000 to 70,000 for the full year.

Tullow's revenue from sales of oil and gas rose by 33% to £378m, as the average oil and gas price rose by more than 40%.

Basic earnings per share more than trebled to 17.23p and an unchanged interim dividend of 2p will be paid.

Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive, said: “Tullow continues to make superb progress and I am delighted to report today’s record results. Our Exploration, Production and Development teams delivered another excellent performance during the first half of the year, while successful portfolio management has strengthened our financial position. The next six months promise to be very exciting as our high impact exploration and appraisal campaigns in Ghana and Uganda gather momentum and we continue to build the long-term value of our business.”

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