UPDATE 1-Tullow too complicated to be takeover target - CEO

(Adds CEO on takeover prospects and oil prices, and shares)

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - The chief executive ofAfrica-focused Tullow Oil has ruled out a takeover ofthe company, saying the involvement of several Africangovernments in its projects would make it too complicated tobuy.

The oil industry, hit by a collapse in crude prices on theback of a global supply glut, is ripe for takeover deals ascash-rich players can target smaller firms, a realityhighlighted by Shell's $70 billion move for BG.

But Tullow CEO Aidan Heavey said he had not received anyoffers for his company, which reported first-quarter trading inline with expectations on Thursday after making its first lossin 15 years in 2014.

"You will be negotiating with every country in Africa. It'sa monumental task, it's a distraction, we don't even think aboutit," he said.

London-listed Tullow has oil assets spread across theAfrican continent, including Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, wherestate oil companies require an involvement in energy projects.

The company is in the process of making cost cuts of around$500 million over the coming three years, a process which isexpected to come at a one-off $45 million cost in the first halfof 2015 to cover redundancies and closures.

Oil production from Tullow's fields was in line withexpectations in the first quarter, as were revenue and cost ofsales.

"Incremental positives within the release are a strong Q1production performance and encouraging appraisal results fromKenya's South Lokichar basin," said analysts at Barclays, whorate Tullow's stock as overweight.

Shares in Tullow were up 0.1 percent at 0844 GMT.

Tullow shares reached a five-month high earlier this weekfollowing a favourable ruling by an international maritimetribunal that allowed it to continue development of its TEN oilfield off the coast of Ghana, removing a major uncertaintyobstacle.

Heavey, an oil industry veteran with over 30 yearsexperience, said he expected oil prices to recover to around $90per barrel within the next couple of years.

"Supply won't meet demand in a couple of years," he said,referring to growing demand and an emerging supply gap due tothe lack of major exploration over the past years. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely and PravinChar)

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