The government and Tullow Ghana Limited have agreed a roadmap to address a US$393.09 million tax liability upheld by an international arbitration tribunal, Graphic Online reported, after President John Dramani Mahama announced a mutually acceptable arrangement at the 2026 Local Content Conference and Exhibition in Takoradi on Tuesday.
Graphic Online described the arrangement as a roadmap. No details of that roadmap have been disclosed. 3News, reporting the same speech, said Mr Mahama "cited the recent engagement between government and Tullow following their arbitration as an example of efforts to reach mutually acceptable solutions."
The announcement follows an award dated 22 September 2026 by a tribunal constituted under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The tribunal dismissed Tullow's claims and upheld a Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) tax assessment on proceeds from the company's business-interruption insurance policy for the 2016 to 2019 financial years, Graphic Online and the GRA reported.
The underlying tax assessment was US$196.5 million. A 100 per cent penalty brought the total to US$393,091,993.70, according to the GRA, Tullow and Graphic Online.
Tullow had argued that the assessment breached tax protections in its petroleum agreements with Ghana. The tribunal found that the assessment did not breach those agreements, that the penalty was properly applied, that the claim was not time-barred and that the GRA's enforcement action was lawful, according to a 30 September statement by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and a GRA statement issued the same day.
Tullow said it was "disappointed" with the ruling and would consider its next steps after further engagement with the government.
In his September statement, Dr Forson said the government would work with the company to implement the award in accordance with Ghanaian law, while taking into account the need to sustain operations and investment in the Jubilee and Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) oilfields. He also said discussions would extend to a separate tax dispute over the disallowance of loan-interest deductions. Graphic Online reports that this second dispute is still under discussion. The September award dealt only with the insurance-proceeds assessment.
The government has said it wants to recover revenue due to the state while allowing Tullow to continue operating and investing in Ghana. Tullow operates the Jubilee and TEN fields, which contribute to the country's oil production and domestic gas supply.