The well is expected to hold 100 million barrels of oil in excess of expectations.

Tullow Guyana B.V. is the operator of the Orinduik block with a 60 per cent stake. Total E&P Guyana B.V.  holds 25 per cent with the remaining 15 per cent being held by Eco(Atlantic) Guyana Inc.

Mr Kweku Andoh Awotwi, the Executive Vice President, Tullow Ghana, said the initial discovery suggested that it was in commercial quantities.

Mr Awotwi was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Tullow Ghana Media Capacity Building Programme on Essentials of Upstream Oil and Gas Industry in Accra.

The two-day training is designed to equip participants with fundamental knowledge of the oil and gas sector.

It is also to provide an in-depth understanding into technologies, coverage and operations, particularly in Ghana of the sector.

The event was facilitated in collaboration with the Aberdeen Drilling School and the RigWorld Training Centre.

He said the discovery in the South American country meant that there are opportunities for people in the Tullow organisation.

“At one hand it is good for Tullow PLC and at the other hand it is good for staff of Tullow Ghana, currently half of the people on the rig are Ghanaians,” he said.

The Executive Vice President said more wells needed to be drilled to see what was in there.

A statement issued by the Company said the Jethro-1 was drilled by the Stena Forth drillship to a Total Depth of 4,400m metres in approximately 1,350 metres of water.

It said an evaluation of logging data confirmed that Jethro-1 was the first discovery on the Orinduik licence and comprises high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs of Lower Tertiary age.

The well encountered 55m of net oil pay which supports a recoverable oil resource estimate which exceeds Tullow’s pre-drill forecast.

It said Tullow would now evaluate the data from the Jethro discovery and determine appropriate appraisal activity.

This discovery significantly de-risks other Tertiary age prospects on the Orinduik licence, including the shallower Upper Tertiary Joe prospect which will commence drilling later this month following the conclusion of operations at the Jethro-1 well.

The non-operated Carapa 1 well will be drilled, later this year, on the adjacent Kanuku licence to test the Cretaceous oil play.