Tullow Oil said on Thursday the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has ruled that the Branch Profit Remittance Tax (BPRT) does not apply to its operations in the Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points fields offshore Ghana.

As a result, West Africa-focused Tullow will not have to pay the $320 million BPRT assessment and will not face future BPRT liabilities, the company said.

BPRT is a tax on the profits that a foreign business makes in a country and then remits, or transfers, back to its parent company abroad.

Tullow is still in discussions with the Government of Ghana to resolve two other tax claims.

Last month it emerged that Tullow Oil was in talks to be taken over by Dallas-based Kosmos Energy, in a potential deal that would end the Irish-founded explorer’s 40-year history as an independent company.

Tullow is in “preliminary discussions with Kosmos Energy regarding a possible all-share offer by Kosmos for the company,” it said in a statement. Kosmos has until January 9th to make a bid for London-listed Tullow.

“Missed production targets have weighed on both share prices this year and with significant debt still on the balance sheet, we think there is limited room for surprises compared to peers given the outlined capital allocation policy,” David Mirza, an analyst with SP Angel wrote in a research note at the time.

“We expect other groups to also take an interest in Tullow’s operated portfolio, including private players such as Trident Energy and Carlyle, which should also benefit from the outcome of the Ghana tax arbitration later this month,” he added. – Additional reporting: Reuters

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