An Accra Commercial High Court has ordered the operator of the Sankofa Oil Field, ENI Ghana Limited and its partner, Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited, to immediately pay 30% of revenue realised from the sale of crude oil from the field to the Court Registrar.

The payment, which is estimated to be about $40 million monthly, shall start from June 25, 2021 (the date of the original ruling) and continue every month afterwards until the substantive matter is determined.

Upon receipt of the payment, the Registrar will then pay the same into an escrow account and furnish the court and the parties with payment records.

Justice Mariama Sammo issued the ruling on Monday, January 24, 2022, in Accra, following an application by Springfield Exploration and Production Limited, Operators of the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2, for the court’s clear interpretation of its ruling.

Springfield’s application was precipitated by ENI and Vitol’s failure to comply with the ruling of June 25, 2021.

On June 25, 2021, the court ruled in favour of SEP’s application to freeze revenues from Eni and Vitol from the sale of crude oil from the Sankofa field, pending determination of their substantive case filed in July 2020.

The companies have been in dispute since an April 2020 directive was issued by the Energy Ministry to unitise the Afina and Sankofa fields to ensure optimal recovery of the resources in the common reservoir in the interest of all the parties involved, including the state.