Tullow Oil Brings First Well Onstream at Ghana Oilfield

UK-headquartered Tullow Oil, an independent energy company with operations in West Africa, has successfully brought onstream this year’s first well at its oilfield offshore Ghana.

According to the company’s 2025 Half Year Results, Tullow’s Ghana drilling campaign was restarted with the J72-P well, the first of two production wells planned for the Jubilee field in 2025. The well was brought onstream at the end of July, with the next well, J73-P, scheduled to follow later this year.

“In Ghana we have already taken actions to address the recent underperformance at Jubilee, with further optimisation potential identified. We have recommenced drilling and have successfully completed and brought onstream the first of two planned 2025 production wells at Jubilee, with better than expected net pay during drilling,” said Richard Miller, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil.

The firm employed the Noble Venturer drillship for a six-well campaign offshore Ghana in December 2024. The drillship, built in 2014 at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in Korea, has the capability to operate in water depths of 12,000 feet and a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet.

Once the two wells are drilled, the Noble Venturer will undergo a planned special period survey (SPS) maintenance, including thruster replacement, before resuming four firm wells in 2026.

Additionally, Tullow is processing 4D seismic data captured in Q1 and plans to conduct an Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) seismic survey in Q4 2025 to aid infill drilling across the Jubilee and TEN fields.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to extend WCTP and DWT licenses holding Ghana’s Jubilee and TEN fields to 2040, which is expected to increase reserves and unlock significant value from these fields. The MoU also outlines plans for additional development in Jubilee, including drilling up to 20 more wells.

The Jubilee field, located 60 kilometers offshore western Ghana in deepwater, was discovered in 2007 with first production in 2010. Tullow operates the license with partners including Kosmos Energy, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and PetroSA.

While Tullow remains active in Ghana, it recently sold its assets in Gabon to the Gabon Oil Company (GOC), ending its 21-year presence in the African country.