Tullow Oil Plc has plugged and abandoned an exploration well in offshore Suriname, after not making a commercial discovery, the company said on Oct. 27.

“The Araku-1 well was an ambitious wildcat exploration well that was drilled efficiently and at very low cost,” Angus McCoss, exploration director, said.

“While we have not made a commercial discovery, we are encouraged by recovering gas condensate from the well and remain fully committed to exploration in Suriname and Guyana,” he said.

Shares in Tullow were down 3.2% at 176.6 pence (US$ 2.31) at 2:04 p.m. CT, making it the biggest faller on the STOXX Oil and Gas Index.

The well was drilled in a block where Tullow Oil operates with a 30% interest alongside joint venture partners, Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) and Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), Tullow said.

Analysts at Jefferies said that while the Araku-1 exploration well has proved unsuccessful, the result ‘ironically’ meant no additional capex demands on Tullow’s balance sheet.

“The well was also being closely watched by the market with expectations in our view higher than normal given the recent successes of Exxon across the maritime border in Guyana,” Investec analysts said.

Offshore