Heritage Oil Operations in Uganda

=Activities=

On the 26 July 2010 Heritage, which had been one of the major players in the country's fledgling oil industry, sold its exploration licenses to Tullow Oil for $1.45 billion, after which the company ceased to operate in Uganda.

Tax disputes
However since the sale Heritage has been in the process of resolving an ongoing tax dispute with the Ugandan government over a contested US $435 million in capital gains tax demanded by Uganda on the assets sale (an amount equivalent to 10% of the government's 2012 expenditure). However transparency group Global Witness criticised the proceedings for being carried out behind closed doors in the London arbitration tribunal, thereby denying Ugandans the right to information about the management of the country's oil wealth.

In a separate dispute with oil company Tullow Oil, Heritage refused to reimburse Tullow for a payment of $313 million that the latter paid to the government in order to push through the sale of some assets to Total and CNOOC. Tullow claims it was paying the tax on behalf of Heritage. In November 2011 Tullow took the case against Heritage to the commercial court in London. This case, in contrast to the Heritage case versus the government, was held in open court.

Over 2012 Heritage made a loss of $69 million compared with a profit of $1.22 billion made in the previous year, during which it disposed of its Ugandan assets.

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