LONDON (June 3, 2013) – The ONE Campaign applauds Tullow Oil’s decision to publish, for the first time, information detailing its payments to governments around the world.

Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of ONE, says:

“Tullow’s decision to publish its payments to governments is a welcome transparency measure that will empower citizens and better enable them to hold their governments to account for the use of natural resource wealth. More companies should follow Tullow’s example and take such concrete, meaningful action to demonstrate their commitment to transparency. Companies that are members of the American Petroleum Institute can start by publicly disassociating themselves from that organization’s attack on a groundbreaking U.S. transparency law.

Companies can also use their expertise to help build capacity in developing countries to ensure that resources are well-managed and contribute to lasting development.”

Tullow Oil is Africa’s largest independent international oil company. In its 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report, Tullow disclosed information about the tax, royalty, and other payments, by payment type, that it made to governments worldwide in 2012.

In a statement announcing its 2012 Report, Tullow emphasized the critical role transparency plays in enabling “the citizens of the countries in which Tullow operates to hold both Tullow and their own governments to account.”

Tullow also endorsed the mandatory disclosure provision expected to be finalized this month as part of the EU Accounting and Transparency Directives. That provision, which closely parallels a U.S. law finalized in 2012, will require extractive companies to disclose payments made to governments related to natural resources.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the national trade association of the U.S. oil and gas industry, has filed a lawsuit to overturn the U.S. law. Several of the individual companies supporting the API lawsuit serve on the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and have repeatedly professed their support for transparency.

ABOUT ONE
ONE is a global advocacy and campaigning organization co-founded by Bono and backed by more than 3 million people from around the world dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. For more information visit ONE.org.