SHARES of Irish oil company, Tullow Oil rose almost 6% on the news that the firm has discovered a major new oil field off Ghana.

The find is thought to be equivalent to one billion barrels of oil. The shares stand at $66 at 9.28am.

This is the second major discovery Tullow has made off the Ghana coast. Indications suggest the field is ‘world class’. Tullow had a 49.95% stake in the Owo field and a 22.895% stake in its other Ghana oil field – Jubilee.

Tullow exploration director Angus McCoss said: “Owo-1 has made a very substantial light oil discovery and continues the success of Tullow’s Equatorial Atlantic exploration campaign in West Africa. Given this success, we are immediately drilling an appraisal sidetrack to further assess the size of this find. Accelerated appraisal drilling will now focus on maturing the resources in both Owo and the adjacent Tweneboa accumulation towards commercialisation.”

Tullow has interests in over 85 exploration and production licences across 22 countries and focuses on four core areas: Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America. Tullow also has interests in the North Sea in addition to other interests in the Netherlands, South Asia and several African countries.