The Minority in Parliament has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and the government to accept responsibility for the ’embarrassing spectacle’ following the loss in the unitization dispute with ENI and Vitol at the international arbitral tribunal.
This comes after the tribunal ruled against the Republic of Ghana, which had issued a directive for the unitization of the Sankofa and Afina oil fields.
Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, who addressed the media on Wednesday, July 10 stressed that the government’s decision to enforce the unitization directive was flawed and has led to significant setbacks for the country’s oil sector.
He said, “We hold the Akufo-Addo-led government responsible for this embarrassing spectacle. It was avoidable with caution. we cautioned them, Mahama cautioned and Civil society cautioned them but they refused to listen.”
“We call on the government to swallow its pride and stop the misinformation. You have not won this case. The government lost this case and lost abysmally.”
The Ranking Member urged the government to quickly engage with ENI, Vitol, and Springfield to find an amicable solution and an acceptable roadmap to restore confidence in the sector.
The tribunal found that Ghana breached the petroleum agreement by issuing the unitization directive under the circumstances it did. The ruling mandated each party to bear its costs and ordered Ghana to pay €189,900 for the cost of the tribunal. The tribunal also declared that Ghana should reverse the directive issued by the then Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu.
“This judgment is a clear indication that the earlier directive by the Minister of Energy stands null and void,” he said.
JInapor lamented that the government took a similar decision in various cases including the GPGC case and lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The government also took a similar decision in the Sahara case, and we lost millions of dollars. Today, we are losing again through a decision taken by the Akufo-Addo government,” he said.
He underscored the decline in Ghana’s oil production and the exit of major oil companies as indicators of the negative impact of the government’s decisions.
Oil production, he said, has reduced from 71 million barrels annually to 48 million barrels, and in the course of the six years of the NPP government, Ghana’s oil has declined by 32%.
He disclosed that Major oil companies like Exxon Mobil, AGM, and Anadarko have all exited Ghana while ENI is currently in court.
“Ghana is now seen as a hostile investment destination. Today, our neighboring country Côte d’Ivoire is attracting all the oil majors and is overtaking Ghana,” he said.