Withdraw unlawful Afina – Sankofa Unitisation Directive – Eni workers, TUC demand
Published:
4 months ago
Source:
MyJoyOnline
Hundreds of workers of Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Ltd have expressed disquiet over the seeming foul play in the unitisation of the Afina discovery in West Cape Three Points Block 2 Area (WCTP2) and the Sankofa field in Offshore West Cape Three Points Block Area (OCTP), which has been in contestation since 2020.
To this end, the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union in a petition to the Minister of Energy said that; "we have observed with grave concern that the State's failure to resolve this issue and bring a decisive conclusion to the matter has significantly impacted the investment climate of the OCTP Project including the general upstream business environment, resulting in potential job losses for our members".
The Union, which has been actively monitoring the unitisation directives and the subsequent legal action commenced by Springfield Exploration & Production Ltd against Eni Ghana and its partner, Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited, following the Ministry of Energy (government) Unitization directives issued on 9th April 14th October and 6th November 2020, is not enthused with the ugly development in the oil sector.
While the Union supports the purpose of unitisation for the optimum recovery of petroleum resources and/or to enhance the efficient exploitation of petroleum resources, it suspected foul play on the part of the government resulting in its disinterest in the execution of the Final Arbitration Award made by the International Arbitral Tribunal under the auspices of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Stockholm, Sweden on July 8, 2024.
The Union which is the parent union of the local union of Eni Ghana explained: "This Award determined that Ghana breached its laws and the OCTP Petroleum Agreement by issuing the directive for the unitisation of the Afina discovery and Sankofa field".
"Accordingly, we believe that as the Republic of Ghana was duly represented at the hearing of the Arbitration, the State would quickly do the needful and see to the implementation of the Award which is final and binding on the Parties and withdraw the flawed Unitisation Directive.
We therefore respectfully request that your good self; as a matter of urgency, intervene in this matter by retracting the directives regarding the Unitization Directives until all the parameters for unitization are fulfilled", the petition dated 8th August 2024 stated.
The General Secretary of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union. Fuseini Iddrisu who signed the petition said they are confident that withdrawing these directives including the imposition of terms and conditions for the project will help restore the OCTP Partners' confidence, encouraging them to maintain their investments in OCTP and the CTP Block 4. This action according to the petition would further help prevent decisions that could lead to job losses and negatively affect the State and the livelihoods of numerous families.
It would further also boost investor confidence in the country's upstream sector considering that most upstream investors are interested in how this matter is being handled to its conclusion. This letter serves as a formal request for a meeting on August 26, 2024, between you and the Union leadership to further discuss our petition regarding the withdrawal of the directives, the petition said. International Arbitration
In 2021, Ghana's Attorney General and Minister of Justice received formal notification regarding the initiation of arbitration proceedings under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
This action was taken by Eni/Vitol against the Republic of Ghana and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for alleged violations of the OCTP Petroleum Agreement.