Ghana breached petroleum agreement in Eni & Vitol case – Int’l. Arbitration Tribunal declares

The International Arbitration Tribunal has declared that the government of Ghana breached its petroleum agreement in a case initiated by Eni and Vitol (the Claimants) against the government of Ghana and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

The Arbitral panel of three, presided over by Prof. Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler with Ms. Judith Gill KC and Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Dahab as other arbitrators, ordered Ghana to pay EUR 189,900 to the Claimants for the costs of the Tribunal and the SCC.

The Arbitral panel, in their 144-page Final Award dated July 8, 2024, dismissed the Claimants’ other requests.

“For the foregoing reasons, the Tribunal declares that the Republic of Ghana breached the Petroleum Agreement by issuing the Unitization Directives under the circumstances in which they were issued,” the arbitrators stated.

It also “orders the Republic of Ghana to pay to Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Limited and Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited EUR 189,900 for the costs of the Tribunal and SCC.”

The panel, while dismissing all other requests for relief, also “declares that each party shall bear its own costs.”

The Tribunal in its decision found that “the Unitization Directives under the circumstances in which they were issued” were wrongful and dismissed the same.

However, the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in a statement issued on Monday, July 8, said the Tribunal denied the Claimants their claims of $7 billion and reviewed it to $915 million in addition to interest.

“The Tribunal denied the Claimants all claims to monetary damages or compensation. The Claimants claimed Seven Billion United States Dollars (US$7 bn). This was subsequently reviewed to Nine Hundred and Fifteen Million United States Dollars (US$915 M) plus interest by the end of the proceedings. This was dismissed in its entirety.

“The Tribunal also dismissed in their entirety the Claimants’ claims against GNPC.

“Regarding the allocation of fees and costs, the Tribunal held that all the parties would be required to pay their own legal fees and costs.”

Find attached the full decision of the International Arbitration Tribunal date July 8, 2024

Link to document: https://tinyurl.com/2acax35b

Source: Starrfm.com.gh