Uganda Gives Tullow Conditional Approval To Farm Out Stakes To Total, CNOOC

Uganda’s energy minister said on Dec. 20 she had given Tullow Oil conditional approval to farm out part of its stake in Ugandan oil fields to France’s Total and China’s CNOOC but only after taxes on the deal worth $167 million had been paid.

London-listed Tullow agreed early last year to sell Total most of its stake in Ugandan fields to Total for $900 million, but CNOOC later exercised its pre-emption rights to buy 50% of the Tullow assets on sale.

“I gave conditional consent for this transaction, subject to payment of tax obligations, as assessed by the Uganda Revenue Authority of about $167 million,” Energy Minister Irene Muloni said during a news conference.

The three firms currently each hold a 33.3% stake in the fields, and Tullow is now selling 21.5% of its stake, which will be split equally between Total and CNOCC.