Springfield wins Ghana gas field case
Italy's Eni and partner Vitol lost July 26 their appeal against a June 25 Ghanaian commercial court ruling in a case brought by local company Springfield. Consequently 30% of their revenues from the Sankofa gasfield in the OCTP offshore development is to be lodged in an escrow account in the host country.
Under Ghanaian law, oilfields that overlap have to combine operations for the purpose of optimal development and production of the resource. Talks between the two camps on how to unitise the Afina/Sankofa field are continuing. Local Springfield operates Afina.
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Springfield CEO Kevin Okyere said July 26 he was pleased that, "once again, the courts have vindicated Springfield’s position on the issue of unitisation. After years of delays and disruptions that regional oil and gas actors have already faced from COVID-19, we believe concluding this matter is in the best interests of all parties and we are looking forward to working in partnership with Eni and Vitol to maximise the benefits of this project for all stakeholders, including the citizens of Ghana.”
Sankofa flowed first gas three years ago and output was expected to reach 180mn ft3/day, mainly for power generation. Enis is operator with 44.44%, Vitol has 35.56% and state-owned GNPC has 20%. The companies have been in dispute since April 2020, when the energy ministry directed the firms to unitise the fields.