17 Feb 44.02 TULLOW Oil's shares fell again yesterday as the exploratory firm said that it would abandon one of its wells in Peru after failing to find oil while drilling there.

The well, of which Tullow owns a 35 per cent stake, was the first to be drilled in the offshore Tumbes basin, a focus for the London-listed firm's activities in South America.

The failure to strike oil is yet another disappointment for the firm, whose stock has fallen more than 80 per cent in the last year after a series of difficulties.

Poor findings in offshore Guyana, problems with drilling in Ghana and operational delays in east Africa saw the firm cut its production guidance for 2020 in November.

Tullow's poor performance led to the resignation of chief executive Pat McDade, who quit along with exploration director Angus McCoss in December.

Subsequently the firm, which is being run in the meantime by executive chair Dorothy Thompson, booked a $1.5bn (£1.15m) writedown on its outlook after lowering its long-term oil price outlook. It is also set to cut a third of its workforce in order to save about $20m on administrative costs as the firm fights back from November's share price collapse.

Shares fell 2.7 per cent to 44p.

TULLOW P46 45 44 43 17 Feb 44.02 42 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 17 Feb 14 Feb

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