Ghana and Ivory Coast have agreed to constitute a joint team to establish the geographical boundaries of a disputed area off the coast of Ghana, rich in oil and gas. 

Ivory Coast recently renewed its efforts to claim the oil-rich C100 maritime area, which Ghana said is part of its territorial waters. Ghana thought it had exclusive possession and occupation of the territory until April this year, when Ivory Coast announced it had struck oil on a block off Ivory Coast and adjacent Ghana’s Jubilee Field.

The territory is estimated to hold about 2 billion barrels of oil reserves and another 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Ghanaian and Ivorian officials held a two-day meeting in Accra on Monday and Tuesday, and agreed to send a joint team to the area to clearly demarcate the boundaries.

Ghana’s team was led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, while Ivory Coast Ambassador to Ghana Bernard Ehui-Koutoua led his country's side.

At the end of talks the two countries set June 2014 to conclude the delimitation.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini told Joy News Fred Smith that a joint team will visit the disputed area on November 26. 

Meanwhile, a law lecturer, Mr Kofi Abotsi said the issue was a complex one that required a cross national trans-boundary committee to address the concerns of both countries to prevent any dispute from escalation.

Mr. Abotsi, who is a law lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Admnistration (GIMPA) Law School, said government must without  any delay, put together a crack team of lawyers, geologists, and oceanographers to respond to the challenge being mounted by Ivory Coast for the oil-rich C100 maritime space.