Tullow Oil this morning issued a trading statement saying that 2005 was a record year that saw strong production performance combining with continuing favourable oil and gas pricing.
The group said it drilled 50 development wells in 2005 and increased its average working interest production to 58,450 boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day), some 44 per cent ahead of the average for 2004
The group said working interest production in 2006 is anticipated to reach 75,000 boepd by the end of the year.
Tullow chief executive Aidan Heavey said: "The strong asset performance and production growth seen in 2005 is expected to continue with significant ongoing development projects in each of our core areas."
The Trading Statement comes in advance of the group's full year results, which are scheduled for release on March 29th, 2006.