The
Minority
in
Parliament
has
cautioned
the
Akufo-Addo
administration
to
exercise
prudence
and
avoid
making
rash
decisions
in
the
future,
in
light
of
the
court’s
ruling
on
the
$915
million
lawsuit
brought
by
Eni
Ghana
and
Vitol
Upstream
against
Ghana.
They
urged
the
government
to
learn
from
this
experience
and
adopt
a
more
thoughtful
and
informed
approach
to
decision-making.
The
International
Arbitration
Tribunal
in
the
Eni
&
Vitol
versus
Ghana
and
Ghana
National
Petroleum
Corporation
(GNPC)
arbitration
issued
its
final
award,
bringing
a
somewhat
positive
outcome
for
Ghana.
The
Tribunal
denied
the
Claimants,
Eni
and
Vitol,
their
monetary
damages,
which
initially
stood
at
$7
billion
but
were
later
reduced
to
$915
million
plus
interest
by
the
end
of
the
proceedings.
However,
the
Tribunal
did
find
that
“in
the
circumstances
in
which
they
were
issued,”
the
Unitisation
Directives
breached
the
Petroleum
Agreement.
According
to
the
Tribunal,
the
unitisation
was
contrary
to
the
applicable
regulations,
thereby
breaching
Article
26(2)
of
the
Petroleum
Agreement.
Despite
this,
the
Tribunal
affirmed
Ghana’s
sovereign
right
to
unitise
oil
fields
to
achieve
efficient
exploitation
of
the
deposits.
Regarding
the
allocation
of
fees
and
costs,
the
Tribunal
determined
that
since
both
Parties
had
prevailed
in
some
respects,
each
would
be
required
to
pay
their
own
legal
fees
and
costs.
However,
the
Tribunal
held
that
Ghana
should
pay
50
per
cent
of
the
amount
paid
by
claimants
to
the
Swedish
Chamber
of
Commerce,
which
amounts
to
€189,000.
The
claimants
were
denied
any
interest
in
respect
of
the
costs
of
€189,000.
The
Minority,
in
a
statement
signed
by
John
Abdulai
Jinapor,
Ranking
Member
of
the
Mines
and
Energy
Committee,
urged
the
government
to
promptly
intervene
and
facilitate
a
peaceful
resolution
to
the
dispute
between
Springfield,
Vitol,
and
ENI.
This,
they
believe,
will
prevent
potential
losses
and
mitigate
any
adverse
impact
on
Ghana’s
oil
and
gas
sector.
“With
this
statement,
we
call
on
the
Government
to
refrain
from
such
unfortunate
and
immature
decisions
in
the
future.
We
urgently
call
on
the
President
to
intervene
and
seek
an
amicable
resolution
to
the
impasse
between
Springfield
and
ENI
to
avert
any
further
deterioration
and
losses
in
the
country’s
oil
and
gas
sector.”
The
Minority
lambasted
the
government
for
misrepresenting
the
facts,
accusing
Attorney
General
Godfred
Dame
of
making
comments
that
blatantly
contradicted
the
court’s
ruling.
They
alleged
that
the
government’s
narrative
is
a
deliberate
attempt
to
distort
the
truth
and
mislead
the
public.
“The
Minority
has
noted
with
grave
concern
the
false
and
distorted
narrative
put
out
by
the
Akufo-Addo/Bawumia
Government
through
the
office
of
the
Attorney
General
to
the
effect
that
Ghana
has
won
the
legal
case
between
the
ENI/Vitol
and
the
Republic
of
Ghana,
represented
by
the
National
Oil
Company
(GNPC),
at
the
International
Court
of
Arbitration
(ICA)
in
London.
Such
contrived
narratives
constitute
gross
misrepresentations
and
must
be
treated
as
such.”
The
Minority
also
criticised
the
government
for
the
humiliation
and
embarrassment
inflicted
upon
the
nation,
criticising
their
actions
as
a
disgrace
to
the
country.
“We
wish
to
state
that
we
hold
President
Akuffo-Addo
and
his
NPP
Government
directly
responsible
for
this
embarrassing
spectacle,
which
only
has
the
potential
of
further
jeopardising
the
potential
gains
of
Ghana’s
upstream
oil
sector.”
Read
below
the
statement
by
Minority
PRESS
STATEMENT
For
Immediate
Release
9th
July,
2024
STATEMENT
ON
ENI/VITOL
VS
GOVERNMENT
FINAL
RULING
BY
THE
INTERNATIONAL
COURT
OF
ARBITRATION
The
Minority
has
noted
with
grave
concern
the
false
and
distorted
narrative
put
out
by
the
Akufo-Addo/Bawumia
Government
through
the
office
of
the
Attorney
General
to
the
effect
that
Ghana
has
won
the
legal
case
between
the
ENI/Vitol
and
the
Republic
of
Ghana,
represented
by
the
National
Oil
Company
(GNPC),
at
the
International
Court
of
Arbitration
(ICA)
in
London.
Such
contrived
narratives
constitute
gross
misrepresentations
and
must
be
treated
as
such.
It
will
be
recalled
that
ENI
initiated
a
legal
process
against
the
Republic
of
Ghana
at
the
International
Court
Of
Arbitration
following
attempts
by
then
Minister
of
Energy,
Mr
Peter
Amewu,
to
impose
a
unitisation
agreement
on
ENI’s
Sankofa
field
in
the
Offshore
Cape
Three
Points(OCTP)
block
and
Springfield
Energy’s
Afina
discovery
in
the
West
Cape
Three
Points
2
Block.
Contrary
to
the
statement
put
out
by
the
Attorney
General’s
office,
the
International
Court
of
Arbitration,
in
its
ruling,
states
explicitly
in
paragraph
489
of
page
144
that:
i.
The
Republic
of
Ghana
breached
the
Petroleum
Agreement
by
issuing
the
Unitisation
Directives
in
the
circumstances
in
which
they
were
issued;
ii.
Declares
that
each
Party
shall
bear
its
own
costs;
iii.
Orders
the
Republic
of
Ghana
to
pay
to
ENI
Ghana
Exploration
and
Production
Limited
and
to
Vitol
Upstream
Ghana
Limited
EUR189,900
for
the
costs
of
the
Tribunal
and
SCC.
Given
the
above
ruling,
it
is
clear
that
the
ICA
rules
against
the
Republic
of
Ghana,
with
the
court
affirming
that
the
Government
of
Ghana’s
directive
on
the
unitisation
was
contrary
to
the
applicable
regulations
and
a
clear
breach
of
Article
26(2)
of
the
Petroleum
Agreement.
With
this
ruling,
therefore,
the
directive
on
unitisation
by
the
Akuffo-Addo
government
stands
null
and
void
and
has
no
effect.
It
is
unfortunate
that
despite
the
caution
by
the
Minority
in
Parliament
and
other
Civil
Society
Organisations
to
this
NPP
Government
to
hasten
slowly
on
this
particular
issue,
the
Government
was
adamant.
In
the
circumstances,
all
our
genuine
advice,
as
usual,
fell
on
deaf
ears
and
was
ignored.
We
wish
to
state
that
we
hold
President
Akuffo-Addo
and
his
NPP
Government
directly
responsible
for
this
embarrassing
spectacle,
which
only
has
the
potential
of
further
jeopardising
the
potential
gains
of
Ghana’s
upstream
oil
sector.
It
is
instructive
to
note
that,
despite
inheriting
three
(3)
oil
fields
from
the
Mahama
administration,
this
NPP
Government
has
added
nothing
significant
to
the
oil
sector;
on
the
contrary,
oil
production
has
declined
by
about
32%
under
the
current
NPP
administration.
Regrettably,
most
of
the
major
oil-producing
companies
have
either
exited
the
country
or
slackened
on
their
upstream
activities
because
most
investors
currently
view
Ghana
as
a
hostile
and
unfriendly
business
destination
under
this
inept
Akuffo-Addo/Bawumia
government.
The
Minority
wishes
to
use
this
opportunity
to
acknowledge
and
commend
Springfield
(an
indigenous
Ghanaian
Company)
and
ENI/Vitol
for
their
significant
investments
in
Ghana’s
upstream
oil
sector.
In
the
spirit
of
cooperation
and
ultimate
benefit,
we
wish
to
encourage
ENI/Vitol
and
Springfield
to
work
towards
finding
common
ground
for
a
harmonious
resolution
of
the
impasse
unnecessarily
created
by
the
Akuffo-Addo/Bawumia
Government.
With
this
statement,
we
call
on
the
Government
to
refrain
from
such
unfortunate
and
immature
decisions
in
the
future.
We
urgently
call
on
the
President
to
intervene
and
seek
an
amicable
resolution
to
the
impasse
between
Springfield
and
ENI
to
avert
any
further
deterioration
and
losses
in
the
country’s
oil
and
gas
sector.
Thank
you.
-SIGNED-
Hon.
John
Abdulai
Jinapor–MP
(Ranking
Member,
Mines
and
Energy
Committee)
—-
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