Court Gives Ghana Go Ahead To Continue Oil Exploration...But Grants Ivorians Injunction Application
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has given Ghana the go ahead to continue oil exploration activities at a disputed maritime boundary between it and Cote d’Ivoire.
The ITLOS ruled that work can go on uninterrupted thus dismissing Cote d’Ivoire's call for the suspension of activities on the disputed maritime boundary until the final determination of their disagreement over the boundary.
This ruling means, exploration and exploitation works on the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntoumme (TEN) project, being operated by Tullow Oil Plc and its partners, can proceed unabated. reports .
Graphic Online court correspondent, Mabel Aku Baneseh, who is covering the trial in Hamburg, Germany, reports that Ghana and its partners would have lost $4.7 billion from now till 2018, when the matter would be settled, if the tribunal had ordered for a suspension of oil exploration activities.
The tribunal however granted an application for an injunction brought against Ghana by neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire.
The Tribunal asked Ghana not to start new drilling activity on the disputed area until the substantive matter is resolved.
"Ghana shall take all necessary steps to ensure that no new drilling either by Ghana or under its control takes place in the disputed area," judges ruled, Saturday.
Cote d'Ivoire is laying claim to Ghana's territorial waters at West Cape Three points currently being operated by oil giants Tullow under the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntoumme (TEN) project.
In February 2015, Cote d’Ivoire filed for preliminary measures urging the tribunal to suspend all activities on the disputed area until the definitive determination of the case, dubbed: “Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean.”
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