The
Executive
Director
of
the
Africa
Center
for
Energy
Policy
(ACEP),
Ben
Boakye,
has
disclosed
that
the
government
disregarded
warnings
from
his
organisation
regarding
the
unitisation
of
the
ENI
Ghana,
Vitol,
and
Springfield.
In
a
letter
dated
July
2021,
ACEP
cautioned
President
Akufo-Addo
against
pursuing
unitisation
without
seeking
independent
advice,
but
the
government
failed
to
heed
this
warning,
leading
to
a
costly
legal
suit.
During
an
interview
on
The
Point
of
View
on
Channel
One
TV,
the
Executive
Director
of
ACEP,
disclosed
that
his
letter
to
the
President
in
July
2021
went
unheeded,
with
his
warnings
about
the
unitisation
of
the
oil
fields
falling
on
deaf
ears.
He
expressed
dismay
that
his
cautionary
advice
was
entirely
disregarded,
leading
Ghana
into
a
costly
legal
dispute.
Boakye
also
recounted
how
some
industry
experts
ridiculed
the
government’s
unitisation
directives,
labelling
them
as
“laughable”
and
suggesting
a
lack
of
understanding
of
the
sector’s
complexities.
“We
didn’t
receive
any
response
from
the
President…When
we
saw
and
heard
the
action
from
the
ministry,
the
AG
and
the
rest
of
it,
we
thought
that
there
was
a
need
for
some
interventions
above
those
organs
or
agencies.
“We
had
to
write
to
the
President,
and
we
wrote
to
the
President
at
least
asking
him
to
take
a
second
look
at
the
opinion
of
the
Ministry
of
Energy
and
perhaps
seek
third-party
advice
if
necessary.
“From
where
we
sat
and
the
technical
people
that
we
have
spoken
to
including
many
Ghanaian
engineers
who
have
worked
with
EXIM
Mobil,
they
worked
with
BP,
and
all
of
them
thought
this
was
laughable
and
an
embarrassing
situation
for
Ghana
to
go
through.
“So,
we
thought
that
we
could
draw
the
attention
of
the
President
to
it
so
that
we
don’t
get
into
a
situation
that
we’re
in
now
and
avert
a
possible
suit
by
the
government.
“In
between
the
periods
also,
we
had
seen
the
claimants
making
overtures
to
the
state
on
the
assumption
that
the
people
handling
the
matter
didn’t
understand
the
technical
details
of
what
they
were
dealing
with.
They
had
made
overtures
to
the
President
and
everybody,
and
they
were
still
not
making
headways.
“So,
we
thought
that
we
could
write
to
the
President
at
least
also
highlight
that,
even
if
you
don’t
believe
what
we’re
saying,
and
what
everybody
else
is
saying
but
your
ministers
and
your
agencies,
just
take
a
second
look.
“Look
for
third-party
advice
and
be
able
to
address
this
matter
in
a
way
that
sustains
the
oil
industry,
the
way
we
had
projected
it
and
wanted
it
to
go.
And
we
also
pointed
out
the
risks
involved…
We
thought
we
could
write
to
him
and
get
some
response
that
would
protect
the
interest
of
the
state,
it
was
just
a
good-faith
communication
to
the
President.
We
never
got
a
response
for
it.”
The
International
Arbitration
Tribunal
in
the
Eni
&
Vitol
versus
Ghana
and
Ghana
National
Petroleum
Corporation
(GNPC)
arbitration
issued
its
final
award,
bringing
a
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.
The
Tribunal
dismissed
all
claims
against
the
GNPC
entirely.
Additionally,
the
Tribunal
rejected
the
Claimants’
request
to
declare
that
Ghana
breached
the
Petroleum
Agreement
by
“refusing
to
withdraw
or
prevent
reliance
by
third
parties
on
the
Unitisation
Directives.”
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