CEO for Tullow Oil Plc Paul McDade has resigned after the oil giant cut its production outlook and suspended the dividend, sending shares tumbling more than 60%.
The company’s exploration Chief Angus McCoss has also quit after presiding over the company’s discoveries from West Africa to Guyana.
In a statement Tullow said production from its oil fields have not met expectations. It said the group’s output for next year is forecast at 70,000 to 80,000 barrels a day ,down from the 87,000 a day expected for this year .
“Whilst financial performance has been solid, production performance has been significantly below expectations from the group’s main producing assets, the TEN and Jubilee fields in Ghana” it said.
The executive departures come after a year of disappointments at Tullow, where technical difficulties have hampered output in Ghana, projects in Uganda and Kenya have faced delays, and results from wells in Guyana missed expectations.
The company reduced its 2019 production forecast several times as the glitches in Ghana dragged on.
The shares sank 61% to 55.28 pence as of 11:54 a.m. London time, the biggest decline since they started trading in the city 30 years ago. The stock has dropped more than 90% since 2012. Tullow’s dollar notes due 2025 declined the most since they were issued in March 2018.
Mark MacFarlane, executive vice president of East Africa and non-operated, has been appointed chief operating officer in a non-board role, according to a Tullow statement.
Les Wood continues as chief financial officer. The board has started a process to find a new CEO and is talking to internal and external candidates.
Source: Africafeeds.com
