UK firm Tullow Oil has announced the discovery of 600 million barrels of light oil offshore from Ghana. Reserves in the Mahogany exploration well were far greater than the 250 million barrels than the firm had earlier forecast.?The Tullow chief executive, Aidan Heavey, said it was one of the biggest oil discoveries in Africa in recent times, but warned it could be up to seven years before the oil started to flow.

In Accra: Ghana strikes oil in commercial quantities

Kosmos Energy, Anadarko Petroleum and Tullow Ghana Limited, consortium engaged in oil exploration, on Monday simultaneously announced the discovery of oil in commercial quantities west of Cape Three Points, offshore Republic of Ghana. Kosmos made the announcement in Accra, while Tullow and Anadarko made theirs in London and New York, respectively.

Mr James C. Mussleman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kosmos Energy, an American Oil Exploration Company, told President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu: "We are pleased that the first well in our multi-well West Africa exploration drilling programme is a success."

The high quality oil was struck 40 miles deep into the sea in the west of Cape Three Points, near Axim, Mr Mussleman did not give figures of the exact quantity in the reserve, discovered after drilling 312 feet of the seabed, as they were still engaged in the process of developing the natural resource. He said Kosmos, which has signed a seven-year exploration agreement with Ghana was looking forward to working with the Government and people of the country to develop the resource.

Mr Mussleman said he was aware of the high expectations of Ghanaians and asked that they should give the Company time to carry out the operation.

President Kufuor expressed appreciation to God about the discovery and said the news should embolden and encourage all Ghanaians to be optimistic about the country's future as the prospects were bright. He challenged Kosmos, the very Company that found oil in Equatorial Guinea and after the discovery was able to extract the resource in no time, to break its own record by moving quickly to develop Ghana's reserve to make the country, which has been grappling with energy problems to become an oil producer.

"We pray that the Company would be successful so that our country would not become a beggar in the energy sector anymore." The Government, he said, has since 2001 been making efforts to address the problem of energy and that consistent with this vision, the Board of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), which was then a general purposes entity was reconstituted.

President Kufuor said the discovery was a vindication of the good decision of ensuring that the GNPC concentrated on its core business operation.

In The USA: ANADARKO ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY OFFSHORE WEST AFRICA

HOUSTON, June 18, 2007 – Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) today announced an oil discovery at the Mahogany-1 exploration well on the deepwater West Cape Three Points Block offshore the Republic of Ghana. The well, which is located in a water depth of 4,330 feet, has encountered a gross hydrocarbon column of approximately 885 feet with 312 feet of net stacked pay in a Cretaceous sandstone reservoir.

To date, the well has been drilled to a depth of approximately 12,083 feet and is planned to reach a total depth of 13,780 feet. Once the well reaches target depth, it will be suspended pending further evaluation and appraisal drilling.

Anadarko is the technical operator of the well with a 30.875% interest. Kosmos Energy is the block operator and holds a 30.875% interest. Other partners include Tullow Ghana Limited, an affiliate of Tullow Oil plc, with a 22.896% interest and Sabre Oil and Gas Limited with a 1.854% interest in the block. The E.O. Group, a Ghanaian oil and gas company, holds a 3.5% interest in the block. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation will be carried through the exploration and development phases with a 10% participating interest. “We are encouraged by the results of the Mahogany-1 well, and we look forward to continued cooperation with the Republic of Ghana as we work with our partners to appraise this discovery,” said Bob Daniels, Anadarko’s Senior Vice President, Worldwide Exploration. “This is an exciting start to our 2007 exploration program offshore West Africa, which includes two additional deepwater exploration wells this year – one offshore the Republic of Benin and one offshore Nigeria.”

The Mahogany-1 well was drilled using the “Belford Dolphin” deepwater drillship, which is under long-term contract to Anadarko. Once the “Belford Dolphin” completes drilling operations on the Mahogany-1 well, Anadarko will move it to drill the Sota-1 well in Block 4 offshore Benin, in which it holds a 40% interest and is also the operator. The drill ship stopped in West Africa to drill the Mahogany-1 and Sota-1 exploration wells before it moves to the Gulf of Mexico to drill additional tests in Anadarko’s 2007 exploration program.

In the UK: Tullow Oil plc – Significant oil discovery offshore Ghana

18 June 2007 – Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the high impact Mahogany-1 exploration well drilled on the West Cape Three Points licence offshore the Republic of Ghana has discovered a significant light oil accumulation based on the results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluid.

The well, which is drilling in water depths of 1,320m, has been drilled to a depth of 3,683m and has to date, encountered a gross hydrocarbon column of 270m with 95m of net stacked pay. It is planned to drill to a total depth of approximately 4,200m to test further prospective horizons. Upon reaching the target depth, the well will be suspended pending further evaluation and additional appraisal drilling will be required. The Mahogany-1 well will be tested at a later date as part of the appraisal programme.

The Mahogany discovery straddles both the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano licences in which Tullow has interests of 22.9% and 49.95% respectively. Tullow is also the operator of the Deepwater Tano licence.

The Mahogany-1 well is the first exploration well to be drilled under the West Cape Three Points seven-year exploration agreement and follows a 1,076 sq km 3D seismic survey on the block in 2005.

Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow said:?"The discovery of oil in the Mahogany well represents a major event for the Republic of Ghana and for Tullow. Based on evidence to date, ultimate reserves are likely to be materially in excess of previous estimates, with some high-potential zones still to be drilled. We look forward to working with our partners to realise the full potential of Mahogany and our additional prospects in the region."

You can hear the UK announcement by Aidan Heavey by dialing in to the Live Event Replay Facility available:

UK Participants 020 7806 1950 UK Participants 020 7365 1827

Irish Participants 01 655 8885 Irish Participants 01 659 8321

Other Participants +44 20 7806 1950 Other Participants +44 20 7365 1827

Access Code 2405197#

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