Tullow Oil fails to find a good quality reservoir in offshore Suriname

In a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange the group said that the geological insights, including high quality 3D seismic, have de-risked deeper plays on the block, which offer material future exploration potential.

The well, in which Tullow had a 30pc share, is being plugged and abandoned.

However, the management of Tullow Oil took the opportunity to confirm its commitment to the exploration portfolio offshore Suriname and Guyana.

Earlier this month the oil company announced that it had acquired 90pc stakes in four onshore blocks in the Ivory Coast. The country's national oil company, Petroci, will hold the remaining 10pc.

The four blocks - CI 518, CI519, CI301 and CI302 - cover 5,035 sq km, and are located on the coastline of the Ivory Coast, mostly to the west of Abidjan.

Tullow said the new acreage will complement its exploration portfolio, as the blocks are located in a proven petroleum system, indicated by multiple oil seeps and past production from the Eboinda Oil Sands.

Tullow, which has worked in the Ivory Coast for 20 years both as an explorer and producer, said that it intends to initiate work immediately on these licences to allow a full tensor gradiometry survey to start year next year.