Ghana voids order forcing Eni to merge offshore oilfield with Afina discovery
(Bloomberg) – Ghana is withdrawing a directive requiring Eni SpA to merge its offshore oil field with a discovery made by a local producer, potentially settling a five-year standoff.
The West African nation’s new government decided to revoke a 2020 order that the Italian oil major and partner Vitol Holding BV join their Sankofa field with the neighboring Afina, operated by Accra-based Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd., according to an official letter seen by Bloomberg.
The decision comes three weeks after Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi paid a visit to Ghana’s new president, John Mahama. Seven months ago, an international arbitration court ruled that the previous administration’s directive to ‘unitize’ the two fields was unlawful.
“I write to formally communicate the decision of the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition to withdraw the unitization directive,” Minister John Jinapor said in a Feb. 25 letter addressed to the three companies involved.
The letter was verified by a ministry official. Eni said it “welcomed” the decision in an emailed response to questions. A spokesman for Springfield said the company “has full confidence” that the government will support an amicable solution between the parties following the withdrawal.
Merging nearby fields is not uncommon in the oil industry, allowing for more efficient development by using joint infrastructure and splitting resources proportionally to each license holder’s share of the initial discoveries.
However, Eni and Vitol had resisted the unitization of Sankofa with Springfield’s Afina, arguing the process, which gave Afina 54.5% of the combined field and left Sankofa with the smaller share, failed to meet legal and industry requirements.
Ghana’s government withdrew the order following “a thorough review” of the decision of the Stockholm-based arbitration court and of the legal opinion provided by the country’s new attorney general, the letter said.
