Springfield secures rig to appraise Afina oilfield

Ghanaian international oil and gas company, Springfield Exploration and Production Company, is set to start appraisal of its deep offshore oil block, Afina Field, after securing a rig to undertake the exercise.

Under an agreement, Springfield secured the Deepsea Bollsta rig from international drilling contractor, Northern Ocean Limited (NOL), to lead the appraisal of the Afina field.

The Deepsea Bollsta rig is expected to commence operations this month.

Springfield has also engaged other blue chip service companies, both local and international, to offer support services related to the upcoming operations.

In partnership with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and GNPC Explorco, the appraisal is crucial in finalising the unitisation of Afina, which forms part of the West Cape Three Points II (WCTP-2), with Springfield as the lead operator, and Sankofa Field, part of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP), with ENI Ghana Exploration and Production and its partner, Vitol Upstream Ghana, as the lead operator.

Appraisal involves activities carried out on oil wells after exploration to determine the accumulation of petroleum and estimate the quantity of recoverable petroleum to help determine the commercialisation of the discovery and whether the fields straddle.

The move by Springfield follows a ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) that appraisal was an important element for unitisation under the laws of the country and, therefore, Springfield ought to do further work to achieve that purpose.

Benefits

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Springfield Exploration and Production, Kevin Okyere, said the appraisal should pave the way for the unitisation of the Afina and Sankofa oilfields, which would be of immense benefit to the country’s oil and gas industry.

“This strategic initiative underscores Springfield’s commitment to advancing Ghana’s oil production by aiming to finalise the unitisation of Afina-Sankofa fileds to ultimately bring significant value to the government of Ghana and all stakeholders involved,” he said.

Commitment

The CEO of Springfield said the appraisal showed the commitment of the company to continue to respect judicial decisions and further boost the oil industry, adding that “Springfield is a company that adheres to and respects all judicial decisions, both national and international”.

Mr Okyere said the effort by Springfield was a testament that African entities had the ability to drive positive change.

“I am hoping that our tenacity and persistence will inspire Ghanaians and the youth across Africa to know that they can all dare to dream and achieve anything they want,” he said.

The new development, Mr Okyere added, was a commitment by Springfield, as the first independent African deep-sea oil producer, to build partnerships that would greatly enhance its operations and bring value to stakeholders.

“We have managed to plan and execute this drilling campaign in the shortest possible time, which will be unprecedented. We look forward to building a mutually beneficial long-term relationship that brings significant value to all our stakeholders,” he added.

For his part, the CEO of NOL, Arne Jacobsen, said the new partnership with Springfield Exploration and Production would create the foundation for the two entities to deliver maximum value in the oil industry.

“This alliance creates the foundation for NOL and Springfield to work as partners to deliver first-in-class operation with our tier One HE rigs. Springfield is an important operator in Ghana, and we are eager to build a long-term relationship with this esteemed company,” he said. 

Unitisation

Although many experts have argued that unitisation of the Afina and Sankofa oilfields will boost the country’s oil industry, it hit a snag following litigation among the parties.

In April 2020, the then Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu, in accordance with Section 34(1) of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919), directed ENI and Springfield to execute a unitisation with respect to the Sankofa Field in the OCTP and Afina discoveries in the WCTP contract areas.

The directive required that an agreement be reached for the development and production of the blocks because the accumulation of the petroleum in the Sankofa and Afina fields were a single unit.

However, ENI did not heed the directive, leading Springfield to drag it to the High Court.

In June 2021, Springfield won a ruling, with the High Court ordering ENI and Vitol to preserve 30 per cent of all the revenues which would be accrued from the Sankofa Field until the final determination of a legal dispute relating to it.

ENI and Vitol challenged the ruling of the High Court by filing a judicial review application at the Supreme Court, which was dismissed by the highest court of the land.

Dissatisfied, Eni and Vitol contested the unitisation order by the government at the London Court of International Arbitration.

The arbitral tribunal ruled against the government of Ghana and held that although the unitisation of Afina and Sankofa was lawful, the manner in which the government went about it was against the dictates of law and standard industry practices.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh