The Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has commended the government for its decision to retract the unitisation directive concerning the ENI Sankofa Oilfield and Springfield Afena Discovery.
The directive, issued in 2020, mandated that the two oil companies collaborate on the development of their adjacent oil blocks, a move that led to significant controversy and legal disputes.
Kojo Yaotse, ACEP’s Policy Lead for Petroleum and Conventional Energy, called the decision a positive step forward.
He emphasized that the move reflects the government’s dedication to enacting reforms that will make Ghana a more appealing destination for oil and gas investments.
“It’s something that has been long coming after nearly five years of dispute. What the directive did was to pull the significant political risk to investment and also reinforce the sections of Ghana as a coastal investment destination,”
He said, “So the decision to withdraw the directive actually gives us as a signal of this government commitment to regulatory reforms that are aimed at in attracting new investments and also restoring confidence in Ghana as a favorable investment destination. What we are expecting is that this result in advancing positive reforms is expected to extend to other areas as well.
” For example, looking at reopening negotiations with the aborted licensing round, for example, so that we get more acreage awarded for exploration,”
