The Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), as part of its judgement on a three-year boundary dispute between Ghana and Cote d\u2019Ivoire, has stated\u00a0that Accra must not pay any compensation\u00a0to Abidjan.<\/p>\n
Cote d\u2019Ivoire, as part of reliefs put forward, asked the Chamber to order Ghana to compensate them, because in their view, Ghana benefited from a resource \u00a0in itsterritorial waters.<\/p>\n
They\u00a0had argued that \u201creparation by equivalence or compensation should be envisaged both for the loss of hydrocarbon production for any damage that Ghana\u2019s activities may have caused to the rocks and deposits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghana on the other hand, argued that \u201cit would be absurd to compensate Cote d\u2019Ivoire for physical changes to the seabed brought about by oil production works which Cote d\u2019Ivoire itself wants to pursue in the very same way.”<\/p>\n
The Chamber dismissed Cote d\u2019Ivoire\u2019s request sustaining Ghana\u2019s argument.<\/p>\n
The Special Chamber, in delivering its judgement on the delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between the two in the Atlantic Ocean, also ruled that Ghana has not violated the sovereign rights of the Francophone country by exploring for oil in that disputed basin.<\/p>\n
The Chamber rejected C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire\u2019s argument that Ghana\u2019s coastal lines were unstable.
\nIt also noted that Ghana has not violated C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire\u2019s sovereign rights with its oil exploration in the disputed basin in question.<\/p>\n
Justice Boualem Bouguetaia, President of the Special Chamber in reading the judgment, accepted Ghana\u2019s argument of adoption of the equidistance method of delineation of the maritime boundary.<\/p>\n
Analysts say Ghana would now\u00a0have to\u00a0wait to see how the final map looks, once the coordinates are plotted in the sea using boundary pillar BP 55+ on a common land boundary, as starting point for drawing the new equidistance line.<\/p>\n
In consideration of the new boundary, the Chamber determined that it starts from boundary 55 -200 nautical miles away, a position much closer to what Ghana was arguing for.<\/p>\n
The judgement effectively means that Ghana\u2019s oil fields are not going to be materially affected.<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s oil discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2007, Ghana discovered oil and gas in commercial quantities, and this was followed by Cote d\u2019Ivoire staking its claim to portions of the West Cape Three Points.<\/p>\n These claims were renewed in 2010 after Vanco, an oil exploration and Production Company announced the discovery of oil in the Dzata-1 deepwater-well. This commission was tasked with the responsibility of negotiating with C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire towards finding a lasting solution to the problem.<\/p>\n But this commission bore no fruit, and in September 2014, Ghana dragged Cote d\u2019Ivoire to ITLOS after 10 failed negotiations.<\/p>\n ITLOS\u2019s first ruling in 2015 placed a moratorium on new projects, with old projects continuing after Cote d\u2019Ivoire filed for preliminary measures and urged the tribunal to suspend all activities on the disputed area until the definitive determination of the case.<\/p>\n The moratorium prevented Tullow Oil from drilling additional 13 wells. Tullow thus drilled eleven [11] wells in Ghana\u2019s first oil field.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2014, Ghana took the case to ITLOS to dispel claims it has encroached Cote d\u2019Ivoire\u2019s marine borders as part of oil exploration activities at Cape Three Points, off the shores of the Western Region.<\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s defense held that Cote d\u2019Ivoire was barred from demanding ownership to the disputed area it had acknowledged that Ghana owned the space without any qualms in the decades leading up to the oil discovery.<\/p>\n The oral hearings for the dispute were concluded in February 2017.<\/p>\n In 2007, Ghana discovered oil and gas in commercial quantities, and this was followed by Cote d\u2019Ivoire staking its claim to portions of the West Cape Three Points.<\/p>\n These claims were renewed in 2010 after Vanco, an oil exploration and Production Company announced the discovery of oil in the Dzata-1 deepwater-well.<\/p>\n Cote d\u2019Ivoire petitioned the United Nations asking for a completion of the demarcation of its maritime boundary with Ghana, and Ghana responded by setting up of the Ghana Boundary Commission.<\/p>\n This commission was tasked with the responsibility of negotiating with C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire towards finding a lasting solution to the problem. But this commission bore no fruit, and in September 2014, Ghana dragged Cote d\u2019Ivoire to ITLOS after 10 failed negotiations.<\/p>\n ITLOS\u2019s first ruling in 2015 placed a moratorium on new projects, with old projects continuing after Cote d\u2019Ivoire filed for preliminary measures and urged the tribunal to suspend all activities on the disputed area until the definitive determination of the case.<\/p>\n The moratorium prevented Tullow Oil from drilling additional 13 wells. Tullow thus drilled eleven [11] wells in Ghana\u2019s first oil field. The Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), as part of its judgement on a three-year boundary dispute between Ghana and Cote d\u2019Ivoire, has stated\u00a0that Accra must not pay any compensation\u00a0to Abidjan. Cote d\u2019Ivoire, as part of reliefs put forward, asked the Chamber to order Ghana to compensate them, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1258,10,11],"tags":[1257,3,11316,84],"yoast_head":"\n
\nCote d\u2019Ivoire petitioned the United Nations asking for a completion of the demarcation of its maritime boundary with Ghana, and Ghana responded by setting up of the Ghana Boundary Commission.<\/p>\n
\n–
\nBy: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie\/Citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"