Tullow Oil has kicked off a multi-year offshore drilling campaign in Ghana with an initial four wells expected to begin to offset expected production declines at its core Jubilee and Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) oilfields.

The drillship Maersk Venturer, which has been contracted for four years, will start off this year with four wells — two Jubilee production wells, one Jubilee water injector well and one TEN gas injector well to provide pressure support to two Ntomme oil production wells.

Anglo-Irish independent Tullow said in its full-year results statement last month that further wells in 2022 will see production "materially recover and be sustained for the long term".

"This drilling programme incorporates lessons learned from the previous programme and is targeting a 20% reduction in drilling costs through simplified well designs, improved rig reliability and supply chain savings," London-listed Tullow added.

Rahul Dhir, chief executive of Tullow, said on Tuesday that the start of drilling on the new programme represents an "important milestone in the implementation of our long-term business plan".

"Working closely with the government of Ghana and our joint venture partners in Ghana, I am confident that we will unlock the full potential from the Jubilee and TEN fields through this multi-year, multi-well drilling programme," Dhir said.

The rig arrived off Ghana in early March, with the full drilling inventory being about 50-plus wells.

Dhir told Upstream in early March: “We can drill about four-to-five wells a year but, if commodity prices remain firmer, we will accelerate (this) and would look to bring another rig in.”

Asked when a second rig could be deployed, Dhir said last month: “My sense is we won’t be able to bring it in next year ... so realistically it’s the start of 2023.”

In 2020, production at the Jubilee field averaged 83,600 barrels per day on a gross basis, and the TEN field averaged 48,700 bpd gross, which Tullow said was in line with expectation.

Both Jubilee and TEN produce through floating production, storage and offloading vessels.

Last year's performance was underpinned by increased and sustained gas offtake nominations from Ghana’s government, approval from Accra’s Ministry of Energy to increase flaring, higher than forecast facility uptime, plus improved well optimisation and water injection facility performance on the Jubilee FPSO.

"To deliver an operational turnaround for the Ghana assets starting in 2020, key areas of focus have been asset integrity, process safety, maintenance and reliability," Tullow said.

Tullow added today that its Ghana portfolio has a large resource base with extensive infrastructure already in place.

"Through a rigorous focus on costs and capital discipline, Tullow believes that these assets have the potential to generate material cash flow over the next decade and deliver significant value for Ghana and investors," the company said.

Production

Tullow spuds first well as part of Ghana rejuvenation