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Ghana has secured a major victory in a long-running tax dispute with Tullow Ghana Limited after an international arbitration tribunal dismissed the oil producer’s claims and upheld a US$393.09 million tax assessment issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The award was delivered on September 29, 2026, by a tribunal constituted under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The case centred on the taxation of proceeds Tullow received under its corporate Business Interruption Insurance policy.
Tribunal upholds GRA assessment
In a statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, the Ministry of Finance said the tribunal dismissed all claims brought by Tullow and upheld the GRA’s assessment in full.
The amount upheld by the tribunal is US$393,091,993.70.
The tribunal also found that the assessment:
- Did not breach Ghana’s applicable Petroleum Agreements with Tullow.
- Included a penalty that was properly applied.
- Was not time-barred.
- Involved enforcement action by the GRA that was lawful.
The ruling therefore represents a significant development in the government’s long-running tax dispute with the oil producer.
How the dispute started
The dispute dates back to December 2022, when the GRA issued Tullow with a corporate income tax assessment concerning the insurance proceeds.
Tullow subsequently challenged the assessment and referred the matter to ICC arbitration in London in February 2023.
The company also initiated a separate arbitration concerning a revised tax assessment related to the disallowance of deductions for loan interest.
The latest tribunal award concerns the business interruption insurance proceeds dispute. The separate loan-interest matter remains outstanding.
Ato Forson commends legal team
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson commended the Office of the Attorney-General, the GRA and Ghana’s external legal counsel, Foley Hoag LLP, for defending the country’s position in the arbitration.
The minister said the outcome supported the government’s position that companies operating in Ghana are subject to Ghanaian law regardless of their size.
He also said the government had engaged Tullow before the tribunal issued its award in an attempt to resolve outstanding tax matters amicably.
Those discussions, according to the Finance Ministry, will continue and will cover both the dispute determined by the tribunal and the separate proceeding involving loan-interest deductions.
Government to work with Tullow on implementation
Despite the ruling, the government says it wants to maintain Tullow’s operations in Ghana.
The Finance Ministry described Tullow as an important partner in the country’s petroleum sector and Ghana’s largest petroleum producer.
The company’s operations in the Jubilee and TEN oil fields support domestic energy security, gas supply and thousands of livelihoods, according to the ministry.
The government therefore intends to work with Tullow to implement the tribunal’s award in accordance with Ghanaian law while taking into consideration the continuity of operations in the Jubilee and TEN fields and the company’s ability to sustain the investments required in those fields.
What happens next?
The Finance Ministry said Ghanaian law gives the GRA authority to determine the timing and manner in which assessed tax liabilities are settled.
However, the ministry has not announced that the full US$393.09 million has already been paid to the government.
Instead, officials say discussions with Tullow are continuing over the implementation of the award and other outstanding tax matters.
The separate arbitration concerning the disallowance of loan-interest deductions is also yet to be resolved.
The government says its objective is to secure revenues due to Ghana while preserving Tullow’s capacity to continue operating and investing in the country’s petroleum industry.
A significant tax arbitration victory for Ghana
The ruling gives Ghana a favourable outcome in a major international tax dispute involving one of the country’s largest oil producers.
For Tullow, the award adds a substantial tax liability to an already complex relationship with the Ghanaian government.
For Ghana, the next stage will centre on implementing the tribunal’s award while maintaining petroleum production and investment in the Jubilee and TEN fields.
The government has indicated that it intends to pursue both objectives as discussions with Tullow continue.
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