Dr Yussif Sulemana, Senior Oil Production Specialist
• The Oil production specialist said it is important for the government to step in to help address the misunderstanding between the two oil companies
• He said other industry players outside the country are monitoring how things are going in the country and that could affect the investor capacity
• ENI said it has more stake in the exploration field than Springfield and that is one of the major causes of the delay in the unitization process
Dr Yussif Sulemana, a senior Oil Production Specialist, has called on the government to interfere in the ongoing misunderstanding between ENI and Springfield oil companies to come up with a proper approach in the ongoing unitization process.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb’s Amos Ekow Coffie, Dr Sulemana said the government must step in to help integrate the two companies to come to an amicable understanding since the international community is monitoring the ongoing situation.
“Bear in mind that we have other players who are closely monitoring and government should try and be a referee in this case. The stakes are high in this situation. And so, once the stakes are high everybody will be looking into this situation to see how it’s going to be resolved,” he said.
His calls come on the back of the failure of ENI and Springfield exploration and production; to unitize the Afina and Sankofa field belonging to both companies.
ENI said it has more stake in the exploration field than Springfield and that is one of the major causes of the delay in the unitization process.
Dr Sulemana said the situation is delicate but a proper approach can be adopted to solve it.
“There is a greater potential that it could repel investors actually. But it all depends on how we as a nation handle the situation because it is a delicate situation.”
Dr Sulemana also noted that the ongoing misunderstanding has the potential to dampen investor confidence in the exploration sector of the country.
“The situation must be handled with caution since the sector has been affected by the premature exit of Exxon Mobil and Ghana is now recuperating from the shock of the exit,” he said.