Tullow Oil Plc, an Africa-focused energy producer, reported a smaller first-half loss after exploration writedowns shrank.

The net loss was $68 million compared with $95 million a year earlier, the London-based company said Wednesday in a statement. The company wrote off $87.5 million of exploration costs in the first half, down from 2.

2 million a year earlier.

Tullow is cutting costs to make its businesses competitive at $50 a barrel oil after the price of crude slumped over the past year, Chief Executive Officer Aidan Heavey said.

“The results have not yet fully reflected the resetting we’ve done in the business,” Heavey said in a phone interview from London. “Our major projects are on track and on budget.”

Source: Bloomberg