Weak oil price, impairments see Tullow swing to $395m H1 loss

A massive impairment charge on Ghanaian operations saw oil producer Tullow on Wednesday report a deeper-than-forecast first half operating loss of $395m (£303m).

Pre-tax impairment charges came in at $642m (£493m) due to the weak oil price and a $572m hit on the TEN oilfields off Ghana.

The Africa-focused group reported a pre-tax loss of $519m (£398m) despite a 46% rise in revenues to $788m.

Chief executive Paul McDade said the company had performed well despite "continued challenging market conditions" that saw a 6% fall in the realised oil price to $57.3 a barrel.

Net debt was cut by $1bn since the year end to $3.8bn while Tullow revised its cash savings target up to $650m from $500m over three years.