Tullow’s last chance saloon

Discouraging Guyanese crude appraisal ramps up the pressure on year-ending drill prospect

The final drilling target of the year for Anglo-Irish independent Tullow has become more pivotal following the company’s revelation that crude from its offshore Guyana discoveries is heavier and more sulphurous than expected. Tullow’s share price had been elevated in recent months. Hopes were high that the company’s twin offshore Guyana discoveries might replicate the crude quality of ExxonMobil’s neighbouring Stabroek block. But laboratory analysis of crude taken from the Jethro and Joe discoveries, in the Orinduik block, revealed crude of around 10-15° API gravity and c.5pc sulphur—in contrast to the lighter 32.1° API gravity and 0.5pc sulphur content of ExxonMobil’s Liza discovery—risking