Ghana has emerged victorious in a major international tax dispute with Tullow Ghana Limited, with an arbitral tribunal dismissing the oil company’s claims and upholding a tax assessment of more than US$393 million by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The dispute centred on the taxation of proceeds Tullow received from business interruption insurance.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said the tribunal, constituted under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration, rejected all the claims brought by Tullow.
According to him, the tribunal found that the GRA’s assessment did not violate the applicable Petroleum Agreements.
It also upheld the penalty imposed on the company, ruled that the assessment was not time-barred and found that the GRA acted lawfully in enforcing the assessment.
“The Tribunal ruled in favour of Ghana,” Dr Forson stated.
He said the outcome reinforces the government’s position that companies operating in Ghana must comply with the country’s laws, regardless of their size or influence.
The Minister added that the ruling “vindicates the position Ghana has maintained throughout: that every company operating in this country, regardless of its size, is subject to the laws of Ghana.”
Dr Forson commended the Office of the Attorney-General, the GRA and Ghana’s external legal counsel, Foley Hoag LLP, for their roles in representing the interests of the Republic throughout the arbitration.
He said government would take steps to implement the tribunal’s award in accordance with Ghanaian law.
At the same time, Dr Forson said the government would ensure that Tullow retains the capacity to continue its operations and investments in Ghana’s Jubilee and TEN oil fields.
The ruling comes against the backdrop of broader tax disputes between Tullow Ghana and the GRA.
Tullow has previously disclosed that its business-interruption-insurance tax assessment arose from proceeds received during the 2016–2019 financial years and that it had challenged the assessment through ICC arbitration.
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