[8] In 2011, the company bought into 25 Dutch, North Sea Gas fields[9] and in March 2012, a new oil reserve was discovered in Kenya.

But Tullow and its partners have yet to reach agreement with the Government of Uganda over a plan to develop Lake Albert including a proposed refinery and export-pipeline.

[19] On 23 April 2020 Tullow announced that it had agreed the sale of its assets in Uganda to Total for US$575 million in cash plus post first oil contingent payments with an effective date of 1 January 2020.

[22] In late October 2013, Tullow announced it had plugged and abandoned a wildcat well offshore Norway in the Barents Sea due to "poor quality reservoir rock".

[27] Tullow placed the remaining $283.5 million into an escrow account, pending the outcome of the challenge, which left a reduced $1.045 billion payment that went directly to Heritage in exchange for the assets.

[29] During the trial, it emerged that senior directors at Tullow had discussed making an "undocumented" $50 million payment to the Ugandan government before considering funding parts of President Yoweri Museveni's re-election campaign.

[30] Angus McCoss, an exploration director at Tullow, suggested to other executives in a group email in April 2010 that the company should pay for an oil licence to "meet the short term needs and demands" of President Museveni.

[31] Tullow's vice president for Africa, Tim O'Hanlon, was also alleged to have suggested that Museveni slur Heritage as part of a deal to settle the tax dispute.

[34] During the court case, Graham Martin, Tullow's General Counsel, was criticised by Heritage's QC for disposing of hand-written notes potentially relevant to the proceedings.

A report by the World Development Movement (a political campaigning group) alleged "that one third of ministers in the UK government are linked to the finance and energy companies driving climate change" and that "Government figures were embroiled in the nexus of money and power fuelling climate change include William Hague, George Osborne, Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin, Vince Cable and Prime Minister David Cameron himself.

[39] In December 2012, reports surfaced in the press that Tullow Oil was subject to arbitration with the government of Uganda at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in the United States.

[40] The dispute arose after value added tax was imposed on goods and services that Tullow purchased for its oil exploration work in the country.

Information on the ICSID website reveals that the basis of the court case relates to "petroleum exploration, development and production agreement".

[40] Government sources said that the real cause for concern for Uganda is the manner in which it lost millions of dollars over the last decade – money that could have stayed in the country.

[41] A report by the organization Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reveals that illicit financial flows from Uganda between 2001 and 2012 amounted to $680 million; in Tullow's case however, the firm argues that it is challenging tax demands that non-governmental organizations like GFI and the Tax Justice Network say should go towards government investment in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Another MP, Gerald Karuhanga, acted as the whistleblower when he submitted documents on the incident in Parliament during the October 2011 Special Oil Debate.

[42] On 11 April 2012, a Tullow Oil delegation appeared in front of an Ad Hoc committee of the Ugandan Parliament which was investigating these claims.

[42] In February 2013, the court ordered the government to pay 12.9 billion shillings in costs to Twinobusingye in a move that was described as "very unprecedented in the country’s history".

[45][46][47] In July 2013, Tullow Oil was accused of dumping two trucks of human waste in Kakindo village in Western Uganda, causing serious health risks to locals and a number of diseases.