London, United Kingdom, October 3, 2016 - Seadrill Partners ("SDLP" or "the Company") has received a notice of Force Majeure from Tullow Ghana Limited ("Tullow") for the West Leo drilling contract (the "Contract") effective 3 October 2016.  The Company disputes Tullow's claim for Force Majeure and will enforce all its rights as per the contract and governing law.

 

The West Leo has most recently been employed on the TEN development project in Ghana. Tullow claims this 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. 

 

Consequently, Seadrill Partners strongly believes that the grounds required for a Force Majeure claim have not been met.