Godfred
Dame
Yeboah
Advertisement
The
International
Arbitration
Tribunal
in
the
Eni
&
Vitol
v.
Ghana
&
GNPC
arbitration
has
issued
its
Final
Award.
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.