UK's Tullow Oil to sell Kenya assets for at least $120m

16 April 2025 - 10:24 By Reuters
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Storage tanks are seen at Tullow Oil's Ngamia 8 drilling site in Lokichar, Turkana County, Kenya. File photo.
Storage tanks are seen at Tullow Oil's Ngamia 8 drilling site in Lokichar, Turkana County, Kenya. File photo.
Image: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

West Africa-focused oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil said on Tuesday it would sell its assets in Kenya to Gulf Energy for at least $120m (R2.27bn) as it works to reduce its debt.

Tullow will get three $40m (R756.3m) payments, be entitled to royalty payments and have the right to 30% participation in potential future development phases at no cost, it said in a statement.

The company's Kenyan oilfields have not been brought into full production as any export route would require building hundreds of miles of a heated pipeline to the coast. It recorded a $145m (R2.74bn) write-off on these operations last year.

In May 2023 the UK-listed company became the sole owner of the Lokichar oilfield after its license partners TotalEnergies and Africa Oil Corp withdrew and sale talks with Indian state-run companies did not result in a deal.

Last month Tullow agreed to sell its working interests in Gabon for $300m (R5.67bn) in cash.

It had net debt of around $1.5bn (R28.36bn) at the end of last year. The company had a market capitalisation of around $255m (R4.82bn) as of Tuesday.


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