Accra, Jan. 12, GNA - Tullow Oil Limited, an independent oil and gas exploration and production group, said on Monday that it had made new discoveries around the Jubilee Field with estimates of about 17,000 barrels per day.

The company says its Hyedua-2 appraisal well had encountered a significant find north-east of the Jubilee Field at Cape Three Point, which showed the field extended much further to the southeast than earlier thought.

"The result confirms good reservoir connectivity and very high productivity and also indicates that future production well deliverability will be in excess of 20,000 barrels per day," Mr Dai Jones, General Manager Tullow Oil Ghana, told the media in Accra.

At a media conference, Mr Jones said the finds raised the company's expectations for the field but he would not specify new reserve quantities. He said the tests confirmed that Jubilee "is a highly productive reservoir and that once the wells have been configured for long-term production they will be capable of producing at rates in excess of 20,000 barrels per day".

Asked whether the current low prices of crude oil on the world market could lead to a change in the production date, Mr Jones said everything was on course in delivering first oil in the middle of 2010. "In fact, unless there is a massive interruption of the production process, everything is on schedule for the first oil in the second half of 2010. The outstanding results are an encouragement for us to proceed with the development of the field," he said.

Mr Jones said the oil exploration companies were in touch with the transition team on the process. The company said it had spent about 60 million dollars in drilling and 500,000 dollars in engineering designs.