TULLOW OIL yesterday confirmed the discovery of up to 50 million barrels of oil in its Odum-1 well off the coast of Ghana.

The company had previously made pre-drill estimates of 70 million barrels for the second well drilled under its West Cape Three Points licence.

But analysts yesterday said the discovery "de-risked" the well's potential and upgraded price target's for the London and Dublin-listed stock.

Tullow said exploration at Odum-1 had also opened up a second prospecting front, taking in the West Cape Three Points and the company's Deepwater Tano licenses.

Chief executive Aidan Heavey said: "The discovery of oil in the Odum well continues the success of our exploration campaign in Ghana.

"This commercial discovery is located only 13 kilometres from the larger Jubilee field and has opened up a new prospective play in the region."

Tullow now no longer views Odum-1 as a future development well and will begin drilling Mahogany-2, its next appraisal well on the Jubilee field.

Meanwhile, drilling at the company's Ugandan Ngassa-1 well, under way since November, has been suspended.

The company said it would re-drill the prospect from a different location after the well had become unstable.

Mr Heavey said the suspension was "disappointing", but was confident it remained a "valid high impact prospect" for Tullow.

Stockbroker Davy added 4p to its valuation of the company's stock following the Odum-1 discovery, boosting its group NAV to 638p. "This opens up a second suite of exploration targets for Tullow," it said in a research note.

Shares in Tullow closed unchanged at 623p in London.