Tullow in the red for third year on further exploration write-offs

Africa-focused Tullow Oil reported a loss for a third consecutive year in 2016 after it was forced to write off further exploration costs, the company said on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported a full-year operating loss of $754.7 million, down from a loss of $1.09 billion in 2015 but bigger than analyst estimates for a $639.4 million loss, mainly due to gross exploration write offs of $723 million.