Tullow - comment

Tullow has referred its disputed Tax Claims from Ghana Revenue Authority to International Arbitration in London. This refers to two disputed tax assessments, which involve the disallowance of loan interest deductions for fiscal years 2010-2020 plus proceeds received by Tullow under its Business Interruption Insurance policy.

It should be noted there are three separate claims, which total $707m. The third claim refers to a separate assessment for Remittance Tax of $320m in 2021. Tullow has already requested a hearing on this dispute, which is scheduled for October 2023.

The total of the three claims is $707m, and in our sum of the parts we have included a liability of $471m concerning all tax claims. Any resolution through the arbitration process will bring certainty to the situation. We note these outstanding assessments make any bond buybacks more difficult in terms of managing liquidity.

Tomás MannionTULLOW