A growing dispute over Ghana’s oil discovery history has erupted between the Minority Caucus in Parliament and the current Mahama administration amid the government’s Eban-Akoma announcement.
The controversy centers around the Eban-Akoma find near Cape Three Points, which the government allegedly promoted as a new discovery.
However, the Minority strongly contested this portrayal, asserting the discovery was made under the previous Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration and has long been public knowledge.
At a press conference, Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, spoke on behalf of the Minority, offering a point-by-point rebuttal.
“ENI Ghana, following approval by the Petroleum Commission under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, drilled a well known as the Akoma 1X well in the Cape Three Point Block 4 contract area in 2019 and announced the discovery of gas and condensate from that well on 9th May 2019.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
He added that ENI made the Akoma discovery public through a press release on its website on May 9, 2019, under the title highlighting the Akoma find in the Cape Three Points Block 4 offshore Ghana.
This was followed by a second major find in July 2021, when ENI drilled the Eban 1X well. The Eban discovery marked the company’s second successful strike within two years and was also officially announced on ENI’s website on July 6, 2021.
“It is instructive to note that both the Akoma and Eban discoveries were made under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration and were among other discoveries made under that administration as a result of a deliberate plan for reserve replacement.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
He emphasized that both the Akoma and Eban oil finds were located within the Cape Three Points Block 4 contract area, operating under a petroleum agreement that had received parliamentary approval.
In line with the terms of that agreement, ENI formally submitted two distinct notices of discovery to the then Minister of Energy, the Petroleum Commission, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
Instead of appraising the discoveries separately, ENI proposed a single, joint appraisal for both Akoma and Eban. This approach was intended to reduce costs and accelerate the appraisal process, ultimately shortening the timeline from field development to production.
The Minority indicated that the previous administration approved ENI’s request for a joint appraisal.
As part of efforts to accelerate the development of Ghana’s hydrocarbon resources, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government gave the green light for ENI to carry out a unified appraisal program covering both the Eban and Akoma discoveries, now collectively referred to as the Eban-Akoma Complex.
Minority Challenges Govt on Eban-Akoma Find
Accordingly, Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah stated that the approval was officially conveyed to ENI on 28 July 2022.
As such, he criticized the Mahama administration for allegedly misrepresenting the situation, describing the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Hon. John Jinapo’s, recent statements as misleading and inconsistent with the facts.
“What has simply taken place is that following a successful outcome of an approved appraisal of the Eban-Akuma discoveries, ENI has… informed the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition of its determination that the discoveries are commercial.
“The Minority wonders how the Mahama administration… would all of a sudden claim that the results of an Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration-approved appraisal program… are a credit to it.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
Hon. Adomako-Mensah clarified that in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector, the responsibility of reporting the outcome of any approved appraisal program lies solely with the contract operator, which in this case was ENI.
He criticized the Mahama administration for what he described as an attempt to politicize what is standard industry procedure, despite having been in office for only seven months.
He stressed that the oil sector demands patience and careful planning, and that progress cannot realistically be achieved within such a brief timeframe.
He also referenced several oil discoveries made between 2018 and 2022 under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.
Among them was the Pecan South discovery by Aker in 2018, with an estimated initial volume of 10 million barrels.
Additional discoveries included Eban-Akoma 1X in 2019, estimated at 168 million barrels, Afina 1X in the same year with a projected volume ranging from 150 to 300 million barrels, and Akoma 1X, also discovered in 2019.
He also noted that ENI’s Afrikoma 1X well produced two separate finds, bringing the total to “seven discoveries out of six wells drilled under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.”
“Let the Mahama administration take note that these seven discoveries cannot be appropriated by it as having occurred under its watch. The NPP’s record in the development of Ghana’s hydrocarbon resources is one that is enviable.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
He concluded by questioning the plausibility of the Mahama administration’s claims, expressing doubt that a supportive environment could have been established within just seven months to enable drilling operations initiated in 2019 to progress to a commercial stage.
“If we did [create a hostile environment], the Ministry would not be announcing commercial level at this particular point in time, having been in power for just seven months.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
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