Ghana and Tullow agree to settle $393 million tax liability
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on 3News
President John Dramani Mahama announced on Tuesday an agreement with Tullow Ghana Limited to settle a tax debt of $393.09 million, upheld by an ICC arbitration tribunal in September. It includes $196.5 million in tax on insurance payouts, doubled by a 100% penalty. Tullow had issued no statement on this roadmap by Tuesday evening, according to 3News.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama announced on Tuesday 10 November 2026 an agreement with Tullow Ghana Limited to settle a tax debt of $393.09 million, upheld by international arbitration. According to 3News, the arbitral tribunal’s decision dates from September.
The dispute concerned $196.5 million in corporate income tax, applied to business interruption insurance payouts that Tullow received between 2016 and 2019. A statutory penalty of 100% doubled the total amount.
Tullow, a London-listed producer and operator of the Jubilee oil field, argued that this taxation violated the stabilisation clauses of its petroleum agreements with Ghana. In its market update of 29 September, the group said the tribunal had found no breach of those agreements and judged the penalty to fall outside their protection. Tullow said it was disappointed and wanted to discuss the matter with the government. On Tuesday evening, it had issued no statement on the new agreement.
Finance Minister Forson had then said the state would apply the award in accordance with Ghanaian law while preserving the continuity of operations at the Jubilee and Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) fields. The talks are also to cover another dispute, relating to disallowed loan interest deductions.
