Latham Advises Tullow Oil on Comprehensive Refinancing

Latham & Watkins has advised Tullow Oil, the independent energy group headquartered in London with operations focused on producing assets in Western Africa, on the successful completion of a comprehensive refinancing transaction which was supported by over 99% of the group’s bondholders as well as Glencore, a further key creditor of the Tullow group.

The complex, cross-border refinancing included a partial redemption and subsequent release of the group’s existing senior secured notes and a release of the group’s existing senior secured facility, which were replaced with US$1.185 billion senior secured notes due 2028 and US$423 million junior secured notes, respectively, and the entry into a new US$100 million super senior cargo prepayment facility.

The transaction extends the maturity of the group’s key debt instruments by over two years, reduces cash interest, and provides a stable platform for the group to deliver its investment program and support asset value maximization opportunities.

The Latham team was led by partners Jennifer Engelhardt, Bruce Bell, Matthew Schneider, Jack Isaacs, and Shawn Anderson, with associates Maria Yip, Lyndy Amato, Stanzi Rosenthal, Evan Aluyen, Matthias Haberstig, Alexander Blom Vigsoe, Jonathan Akinluyi, and Musonda Mutati. Advice on banking matters was provided by partner Tamryn Gallagher, with associates James Szauer, James Futcher, and Jiahui (Jane) Guo; on corporate matters by partners Sam Newhouse, Richard Butterwick, Harriet Stephenson, and Anna Ngo, with counsel Koushik Prasad; and on project development matters by partners Pedro Rufino Carvalho and David Ziyambi, with associate Daniel Chen. Structured finance advice was provided by partner Delyth Hughes, with associate Fadzai Ramwi, and advice on tax matters was provided by partner Karl Mah, with associates Allegra Benitah and Farrah Yan.