Tullow remains in the red as weak oil prices eats into revenue

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil and gas producer Tullow Oil (TLW.L) continued operating at a loss in the first half of the year as weak oil prices ate into its revenue.

The Africa-focused oil company, which reported its first pretax loss in 15 years in February and scrapped its dividend, reported a pretax loss of $10 million (6.4 million pounds) for the first six months of the year and a 35 percent fall in revenue.

Despite technical issues which have restricted production at Tullow's Jubilee field in Ghana, the company decided to maintain its full-year output target, surprising analysts who had expected a revision.

Oil prices have halved over the past year, requiring oil companies to tighten their belts. Tullow Oil promised on Wednesday to start delivering on its $500 million three-year cost-saving programme in the second half of the year after making "significant" staff reductions.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)