The Minority in Parliament has cautioned the Akufo-Addo administration to exercise prudence and avoid making impulsive decisions in response to 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 well-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, which brought a somewhat positive outcome for Ghana.
The Tribunal rejected Eni and Vitol’s claim for monetary damages, originally set at $7 billion but reduced to $915 million plus interest during the proceedings.
However, the Tribunal found that the Unitisation Directives, issued under the Petroleum Agreement, were in breach of Article 26(2) of the Agreement.
Despite this, the Tribunal affirmed Ghana’s sovereign right to unitize oil fields for efficient resource exploitation.
Regarding costs, the Tribunal ruled that each party should bear their own legal fees and costs, except for Ghana being responsible for 50% of the claimants’ payment to the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, totaling €189,000.
In a statement signed by John Abdulai Jinapor, Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, the Minority called on the government to intervene promptly and facilitate a peaceful resolution to the Springfield, Vitol, and Eni dispute.
They emphasized that resolving this issue swiftly would prevent potential losses and minimize adverse impacts 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 criticized the government for misrepresenting the facts, accusing Attorney General Godfred Dame of making statements that directly contradicted the court’s ruling.
They alleged that the government’s narrative is a deliberate effort 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 condemned the government for causing humiliation and embarrassment to the nation, describing their actions as disgraceful 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.”
