The Minority in Parliament has said that a future National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would not push for the merger of ENI and Springfield if John Mahama wins the 2024 elections.
According to Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy Affairs, John Jinapor, the NDC government will resolve the dispute within one month of assuming office.
Government efforts to merge the two oil fields were subject to arbitration, and the arbitral tribunal ruled against Ghana.
Lead Commissioner on the Committee on Mines and Energy, John Jinapor, explained in Parliament that a future NDC administration would allow both producers to operate their respective fields independently.
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The minority spokesman also pointed out that the Attorney General’s office and some media outlets had spread false information following the verdict.
Jinapor stressed that based on the arbitration tribunal’s ruling, previous directives by Energy Minister Peter Amew were invalid.
He noted that the arbitral tribunal had ruled in favour of ENI and directed that Ghana should revoke its instructions.
“It was something that could have been avoided. We warned them. Civil society warned them. President Mahama warned them. We knew we were heading for defeat because the decision had no basis. It was not backed by any law, it was not backed by common sense.”
Jinapor noted that this embarrassing situation arose because the government ignored their advice.
“It sends the wrong signal because if Ghana is perceived as an investment-hostile country, no one will want to do business with us. But more importantly, we have lost a lot of revenue. If we had solved this problem in 2020, we would have been producing a lot more oil.”
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