Seadrill Partners received a notice of force majeure from Tullow Ghana for the West Leo drilling contract effective 3 October 2016 that the company is disputing.
Seadrill said it will move to enforce all its rights as per the contract and governing law.
The West Leo has most recently been employed on Tullow’s TEN development project in Ghana.
Tullow claims that the TEN field is subject to a drilling moratorium by the government of Ghana due to the ongoing arbitration proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to determine the delineation of a disputed border.
Irrespective of whether that is correct, additional Tullow operated fields within Ghana, where the West Leo has previously operated under the contract, are not subject to such arbitration proceedings. However, as part of its claim, Tullow has asserted that a further drilling moratorium applies to these additional fields, although no satisfactory justification has been provided, according to Seadrill.
“Consequently, Seadrill Partners strongly believes that the grounds required for a force majeure claim have not been met,” Seadrill said.
Image of the West Leo, from Seadrill.
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