Uganda: Tullow Oil Banking On Payment of $500m From Kampala to Pay Debts

Uganda: Tullow Oil Banking On Payment of $500m From Kampala to Pay Debts

Government has concluded drafting three different pieces of legislation that will inform how money from the Petroleum Fund in Bank of Uganda. A fortnight after closing a deal where it offloaded its stake in the Albertine Grabben projects to French oil major Total, Tullow Oil has written to the Ugandan government to expedite transaction approvals that will see the company receive $500 million in the second half of this year. The company will use the proceeds to repay its debt.

The Anglo-Irish firm sent its request for approval to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on June 4.

However, officials said that the government is keen to expedite the approval following the decision by China National Offshore Oil Corporation not to exercise its pre-emptive rights under the joint operating agreements.

"The request will be processed expeditiously since there is already mutual understanding on the treatment of the transaction between the government and the oil companies," officials said.

"We hope they will approve the deal so that it can close in the second half of 2020," said George Cazenove, head of corporate affairs and communications at Tullow Oil Plc.

Tullow is keen to conclude the deal as it represents the first significant step in the management of its debt portfolio, aiming to raise in excess of $1 billion from this and other transactions before end of this year.

On April 23, Tullow and Total signed a sale and purchase agreement, in which Tullow agreed to transfer its entire interests in Blocks 1, 1A, 2 and 3A in Uganda and the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Total Uganda for cash consideration of $575 million.

According to the agreement, Tullow was to receive $500 million upon completion of the transaction and $75 million when Uganda oil projects reach the Final Investment Decision of the upstream and midstream segments.

GLOBAL OIL PRICE COLLAPSE

Uganda government’s approval is the final cog in the wheel that will allow the two oil firms to proceed towards conclusion and relieve the troubled Anglo Irish firm of its debt and operation challenges both in the region and elsewhere.

Besides the Ministry of Energy granting, Uganda Revenue Authority is also poised to okay the deal after agreeing with the parties on $14.6 million capital gains tax from this transaction, URA spokesperson Vincent Seruma said.This is unlike Tullow’s previous deal entered in 2017 in which the company sought to sell 21.57 per cent of its interests to […]

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