Barclays Bank has said it expects the first oil pumped by Tullow Oil from its offshore project in Ghana to boost its cash flow and allow it to de-lever the business.

The first cargo to be taken from Tweneboa, Enyera, Ntomme (TEN) is expected toward the end of September and the successful delivery has come at an important time as Tullow is currently straddled with around USD4.70 billion worth of debt from financing the development.

Barclays analyst, James Hosie, said the pumping of the first oil on time and within budget had not boosted Tullow's stock, but investor confidence was expected to grow with details of initial production performance.

The TEN project is expected to have a full capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil a day and the project will gradually ramp up to full production this year. The average production for 2016 is forecast at 23,000 barrels a day and Tullow's 47.175% stake means it will be entitled to around 11,000 barrels of that gross daily production.

Hosie said Tullow's November 9 trading update was likely to provide the first insights into the offshore project's performance, along with the third quarter results of project partner Kosmos Energy.

"We view Tullow as an attractively positioned oil developer with significant leverage to a gradually improving oil price outlook" said Hosie.

Barclays maintained a 320.00 price target for Tullow Oil and an Overweight rating. Tullow shares were down 1.3% at 236.60p.