A Ghanaian court has ordered the government to halt payments to Eni and Vitol, amidst the ongoing legal dispute with local company Springfield Exploration & Production.
A commercial court in Accra, on July 15, granted Springfield’s request to halt payments.
Springfield asked for an injunction restraining Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC), the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance “from making any and all payments whether outstanding or recurring” to Eni and Vitol. The injunction runs while the hearings over the unitisation dispute continue.
Judge Mariama Sammo granted the request for the injunction. She went on to require an account of payments to the two companies. “I am of the view that it will be in the interest of justice to grant the application for interlocutory injunction,” she said.
Eni and Springfield representatives have not yet commented on the legal move.
The dispute stems from an argument over whether a discovery made by Springfield is part of Eni and Vitol’s fields.
The Italian company is the operator of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP). Springfield holds the West Cape Three Points Block 2 (WCTP2).
Springfield made its Afina discovery in December 2019 on WCTP2. A GNPC study on unitisation said that Eni’s Sankofa East field is connected to Afina. Furthermore, it said the owners of WCTP2 control up to 54.5% of the unitised field.
Eni has rejected the claims that the fields are connected. Springfield has only drilled one well, it argues, and there is insufficient evidence to show connectivity.
Heavy going
A Ghanaian court ruled in June 2021 that Springfield may have the rights to up to 30% of revenues from Eni’s offshore operations. It ordered the companies to set this aside in an escrow account. Judge Sammo also presided over this hearing, which had initially sought to capture all revenues.
The Ghanaian company at the time said this might be worth $40 million per month.
A report in February this year by local news source the Graphic said Eni and Vitol had not set aside the required 30%.
Eni has taken the case to the London Court of Arbitration.