Ben Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), revealed that his group had warned the government against unitizing the ENI Ghana, Vitol, and Springfield.
President Akufo-Addo received a warning from ACEP in July 2021 not to pursue unitization without first obtaining independent opinion. The administration disregarded this advice, which resulted in an expensive lawsuit.
The Executive Director of ACEP revealed in a Channel One TV interview that his letter to the President in July 2021 was ignored and that his concerns on the unitization of the oil fields were not taken seriously.
He expressed shock that Ghana was dragged into an expensive court battle as a result of Ghana completely ignoring his warning advice.
Boakye also related how some business insiders derided the government’s unitization instructions, calling them “laughable” and implying that they don’t comprehend the intricacies of the industry.
“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.”
Ghana gained a favourable victory when the International Arbitration Tribunal published its final award in the Eni & Vitol versus Ghana and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) arbitration.
The monetary damages that were originally estimated to be worth $7 billion but were ultimately lowered to $915 million plus interest by the conclusion of the proceedings were refused by the Tribunal to the Claimants, Eni and Vitol.
The Tribunal completely rejected every allegation made against the GNPC. The claimants also asked the Tribunal to rule that Ghana violated the Petroleum Agreement by “refusing to withdraw or prevent reliance by third parties on the Unitization Directives,” but the motion was denied.