Ranking member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor, has disclosed that the International Arbitration Tribunal has ordered the Government of Ghana to pay €189,000 in legal fees to ENI/VITOL.
This suit was filed against the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) by Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Limited and Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited.
According to the Tribunal, the unitization proposed by Ghana to ENI and VITOL to partner and operate on one oil field did not breach any law, but Ghana must pay the legal fees borne by the claimants.
The Tribunal affirmed Ghana’s sovereign right to unitize oil fields to achieve efficient exploitation of the deposits.
Hon. Jinapor questioned, “If the government had adhered to the advice to settle the ENI/VITOL dispute out of court, this legal fee cost wouldn’t have occurred and, as such, was avoidable.”
He further indicated that despite a joint warning from the minority in Parliament and former president Mr. John Dramani Mahama urging the government to seek an out-of-court settlement, the government turned a deaf ear.
He said that the government’s failure to adhere to the joint calls has cost Ghana significantly.
STORY BY PROSPER KWAKU SELASSY AGBITOR FROM PARLIAMENT
