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The
Minority
has
accused
the
government
of
putting
out
a
false
and
distorted
narrative
on
the
$915
million
lawsuit
brought
by
Eni
Ghana
and
Vitol
Upstream
against
Ghana.
Positively
for
Ghana,
the
Tribunal
denied
Claimants
their
monetary
damages.
The
Claimants
initially
claimed
7
billion
dollars,
but
they
subsequently
reviewed
it
to
$915
million
plus
interest
by
the
end
of
the
proceedings.
The
Tribunal
also
dismissed
the
Claimants’
claims
against
GNPC
in
their
entirety.
In
addition,
the
Tribunal
dismissed
the
Claimants’
request
that
the
Tribunal
declare
that
Ghana
breached
the
Petroleum
Agreement
by
“refusing
to
withdraw
or
prevent
reliance
by
third
parties
on
the
Unitisation
Directives.” The
Tribunal
also
dismissed
the
Claimant’s
request
that
Ghana
notify
the
High
Court,
Court
of
Appeal
and
Supreme
Court
of
Ghana
that
the
Unitisation
Directives
were
issued
in
breach
of
the
Petroleum
Agreement.
The
Tribunal,
however,
found
that
“in
the
circumstances
in
which
they
were
issued,”
the
Unitisation
Directives
breached
the
Petroleum
Agreement.
That
is,
the
unitisation
was
contrary
to
the
applicable
regulations
and
thereby
breached
Article
26(2)
of
the
Petroleum
Agreement. Nonetheless,
the
Tribunal
affirmed
Ghana’s
right
to
the
authority
to
unitise
oil
fields
to
achieve
efficient
exploitation
of
the
deposits.
Regarding
allocation
of
fees
and
costs,
the
Tribunal
held
that
since
both
Parties
had
prevailed
in
some
ways,
both
Parties
would
be
required
to
pay
their
own
legal
fees
and
costs.
In
a
reaction
to
the
Award,
the
Attorney-General
and
Minister
of
Justice,
Godfred
Yeboah
Dame,
indicated
that
while
he
would
have
wished
the
Tribunal
to
dismiss
the
Claimants’
claims
against
the
Republic
in
its
entirety,
he
is
pleased
to
note
that
the
Tribunal
rejected
partly
the
claims
against
Ghana,
and
entirely
the
claims
against
GNPC.
He
is
also
delighted
by
the
complete
dismissal
of
all
claims
for
monetary
compensation
made
by
ENI/Vitol
against
Ghana,
thus
saving
Ghana
significant
financial
obligation.
He
is
also
pleased
with
the
Tribunal’s
affirmation
of
Ghana’s
sovereign
right
to
unitise
its
oil
fields.
The
Attorney-General
added
that
in
the
circumstances,
the
Parties
must
determine
the
best
way
to
proceed
going
forward.
Unitisation,
in
principle,
is
not
unlawful
per
the
Tribunal’s
decision.
It
is
the
manner
and
the
circumstances
in
which
the
same
ought
to
be
carried
out
that
the
Tribunal
found
wanting
in
the
current
dispute.
The
Attorney-General’s
Office
says
it
remains
resolute
in
vigorously
contesting
all
international
arbitration
claims
calculated
to
impose
judgment
debt
on
the
country.
Recent
victories
against
Beijing
Everyway,
Cassius
Mining,
and
Messrs
Micheletti
Company
Limited
are
a
testament
to
this.
But
the
Minority
in
a
statement
signed
by
John
Abdulai
Jinapor,
Ranking
Member
of
the
Mines
and
Energy
Committee,
said
that
it
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
statement
added
that
“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.”
Read
below
the
statement
by
the
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)