Tullow declares force majeure ahead of planned well in Guinea

Hyperdynamics Corporation said on 12 March that Tullow Oil had declared force majeure over its Guinea acreage. The announcement followed a guilty plea by French national Frédéric Cilins to obstructing a US criminal investigation in connection with a bribery probe into how Beny Steinmetz’s BSG Resources (BSGR) acquired mining rights in Guinea. On 30 September, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) issued a subpoena asking Hyperdynamics, the original licence holder, to produce documents relating to its business in Guinea.The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a similar subpoena in January this year. Guinea’s resource contracts have been under scrutiny since President Alpha Condé took office in December 2011, but investigations moved to the US last year with the arrest of Cilins in April.