The possibility of Cote D’ivoire successfully securing an injunction to stop Ghana from exploring oil at the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) oil block is high, a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Appiahgyei Atuah has said.
[contextly_sidebar id=”wMhrztEIO3xU63MlXD7Vix3WcQRUhFNC”]Ghana is currently in a legal tussle with Cote D’ivoire at the Tribunal for the International Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany over a boundary dispute, which is likely to affect oil exploration and production at the West Cape Three Point.
Cote D’Ivoire had filed a case praying the court to compel Ghana to stop further exploration on the TEN project until the substantive case is arbitrated.
Speaking to Citi News a Senior Law lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Appiahgye Atuah explained that because oil is not a renewable resource “if Ghana is allowed to continue with the exploration and exploiting the resource and the case drags on for many years and in the end Cote D’Ivoire wins then….they would have lost huge sums of monies,” hence his conclusion.
He said, “if you ask me frankly, legally, I think Cote D’ivoire has a stronger case compared to Ghana with regards to the provisional measures looking at the fact and constraint that oil is not a renewable resource.”
Dr Atuah insisted that his argument does not mean Ghana has a bad case but said, “that is my personal opinion that it will not go in favour of Ghana.”
Ghana and Cote D’lvoire’s oil dispute will worsen if… – AG
During the last hearing at the International Tribunal, Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong insisted that any attempt to stop Ghana from continuous exploration at the TEN site will aggravate the dispute and cause irreparable damage to the relationship of the nation.
Ivory Coast, which is claimant to the TEN fields operated by Tullow Oil in Ghana, told a panel of judges that Ghana risks losing the disputed oil fields if she decides to continuously explore the field.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana