Oil giant, Tullow, is to resume operations at the TEN oil fields by December 2017, after putting it on hold for two years due to the maritime border dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Ghana dragged Ivory Coast to the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea(ITLOS) in September 2014, after negotiations with Ivory Coast over the disputed boundary broke down.
ITLOS in its first ruling in 2015, placed a moratorium on new projects, and the directive meant Tullow had to put on hold operations including drilling in the disputed area.
But today, September 23, 2017, ITLOS ruled largely in favor of Ghana.
The special chamber ruled that there had not been any violation on the part of Ghana on Ivory Coast’s maritime boundary. ITLOS also determined a new boundary for the two countries.
Tullow in a statement copied to Citi Business News said the TEN fields were not affected by the new maritime boundary determined by the tribunal.
Tullow added that it “will now work with the Government of Ghana to put in place the necessary permits to allow the restart of development drilling in the TEN fields.
Tullow expects to resume drilling around the end of year. Tullow’s TEN field currently produces about 40,000 barrels of oil per day.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Tullow, Paul McDade, has assured that the company will continue its production in Ghana and also work with the government of Ivory Coast.
“Tullow looks forward to continuing to work constructively with the Governments of both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire following the conclusion of this process. While the TEN fields have performed well during the period of the drilling moratorium, we can now restart work on the additional drilling planned as part of the TEN fields’ plan of development and take the fields towards their full potential,” he said.
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By: Vivian Kai Lokko/Citibusinessnews/Ghana