Illness prompts Tullow to reconfigure front office again

June 20 (UPI) -- After reshuffling the desks at its front office earlier this year, Africa-focused Tullow Oil said Tuesday it has a new finance officer because of health issues.

Tullow said it appointed Les Wood as its chief financial officer effective Tuesday. He served as interim CFO since January when Ian Springett resigned from the post because of poor health.

"Springett had taken an extended leave of absence from Tullow in order to undergo treatment for a medical condition," the company explained.

Wood joined Tullow in 2014 after working for nearly 30 years with British energy company BP, where he served as the regional CFO for Canada and the Middle East, among other positions.

Tullow is one of the premier players in emerging West Africa. In April, Chairman Aidan Heavey handed over the reins of the office of the chief executive to Paul McDade, who served as the chief operating officer since 2004.

Spending last year for Tullow was $900 million and the forecast for capital expenditures this year is lower by more than 40 percent. The company's full-year 2016 revenue of $1.3 billion was 21 percent lower year-over-year, though its losses improved considerably over 2015.

For full-year 2016, the company said it ended the year with $1 billion in free cash. Tullow is one of the premier players in emerging West Africa and said in February its production for 2017 would likely average 78,000 barrels of oil per day at the low end, a marked increase from the previous year.

In April, it said its working interest in West African oil production for the first quarter averaged 85,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day.