With the Akufo-Addo government’s support for Springfield now hanging in the balance, the future of Ghana’s oil industry remains uncertain.
After years of struggling to achieve unitization, the political tides shifted dramatically when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, which had facilitated Springfield’s influence, lost power in the December 7 elections, with a record margin of almost 1.7 million souls.
While, some may believe that Ghana is emerging from the turmoil caused by the Akufo-Addo administration’s mismanagement of the oil and gas sector, the truth is more complicated.
The Springfield block itself was awarded during the NDC government’s tenure, facilitated by individuals who continue to have strong ties to Springfield or are now positioning themselves for a political comeback.
Springfield, in its quest for control, is hoping that those who played a role in awarding the block to them will return to the political scene to help advance the company’s interests, particularly through the unitization process, which has remained stalled for years.
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The Herald, has been closely tracking the intense lobbying underway for key positions within the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
One notable figure in this lobbying effort is Michael Aryeetey, who authored a controversial report that led to the unitization directives from the Ministry of Energy.
This individual has since been rewarded with the position of Managing Director of Explorco, a subsidiary of GNPC. His aggressive lobbying to retain his position at Explorco, is seen as part of a broader strategy to further Springfield’s interests.
Thus far, he remains the cheerleader for Springfields in GNPC. He has granted interviews to hype the appraisal operation of Springfield. Many have wondered why GNPC, allowed a reentry of the Afina discovery as appraisal.
As a geophysicist, Aryeetey, understands the meaning and technical implications of appraisal on oil discoveries.
In an interview with GNPC’s YouTube channel, he defined appraisal to include establishing the lateral extent of oil accumulation.
Meanwhile, the same person, passed a reentry of a well as an appraisal Programme and committed GNPC’s resources.
Explorco, as an interest holder in the Springfield block, should have served as the country’s technical watchdog for the operations. However, under the direction of Aryeetey and his associates, Ghana was instead dragged into lengthy arbitration that squandered both time and resources.
Another key player in this political manoeuvring is, Thomas Manu, who is lobbying to become the board chair of GNPC.
Mr Manu, who served as Deputy Managing Director of GNPC prior to 2017, and is now Vice President of Exploration and Production at Springfield, was part of the Corporation, when Kosmos Energy, made its initial discoveries in the area now occupied by Springfield.
Kosmos, had made discoveries on the Springfield block, but they were not commercially viable after appraisal.
Under the terms of the petroleum agreement, Kosmos, was obligated to relinquish the block. However, Kosmos applied for first right of refusal, which was rejected by both the GNPC executive and the Ministry of Energy.
The block was then awarded to Springfield, despite the fact that Springfield, did not provide the technical and financial guarantees required for the award of an oil block.
It took the company five years to prepare for its first drilling campaign. Shortly after the award of the block, Springfield began pursuing neighbouring block owners for unitization or potential farm down of its block. They first approached Aker Energy to claim straddling of its Beach discovery.
However, Aker Energy declined to engage meaningfully and maintained focus on the Pecan discovery.
Springfield later turned to Eni to claim connectivity and straddling of the two blocks. For a period of almost two years, they failed to convince Eni and the OCTP partner to consider unitization without drilling. They eventually agreed to drill a well close to the border of the OCTP field.
Springfield’s drilling campaign was marked by a failure to test the well to determine if the discovery merited appraisal. Instead, the company doubled down on its demand for unitization, refusing to conduct the necessary appraisals to assess whether significant volumes could be extracted. This failure has left Ghana embroiled in legal disputes, further eroding investor confidence and stalling the industry’s development for nearly four years.
With the embarrassing outcome of the arbitration case against Ghana, the Petroleum Commission asked Springfields to conduct an appraisal of its 2019 discovery.
Springfield and Aryeetey-led Explorco and GNPC submitted reentry of the 2019 Afina as well as the appraisal programme. Terrible as that decision is, the Petroleum Commission has lost control over Springfield; failing to get reports from Springfield weeks after the reentry- a case never witnessed in the industry.
Now, after struggling to produce credible data from the November 2024 well reentry, Springfield is once again attempting to manipulate the political system to its advantage, even as its political backers lost power. It seems unlikely that the outgoing government of Akufo-Addo will be able to pull off any last-minute manoeuvres.
The Petroleum Commission is divided, and its board chair, Stephen Sekyere–Abankwa, the co-founder of Prudential Bank Limited, appears to be a lone ranger aligned with Springfield’s interests, while the Chief Executive, Egbert Faibille Jnr., a lawyer, has resumed responsibility to demand reports in 15 days.
In the coming days, The Herald, will profile all the others who also want to be on the Board of GNPC or MD with a strong connection to Springfield, including Mr Kwame Ntow Amoah, who also worked at GNPC when the Kosmos discoveries were awarded to Springfield. Our intelligence suggests that he’s lobbying to be the MD of GNPC.
As the oil industry cries out for investment and stability, the prospect of handing over the Ministry of Energy and GNPC to those aligned with Springfield’s political manoeuvring is a dangerous proposition. Such a move could further undermine the regulatory environment and jeopardize the industry’s sustainability.
Ghana’s oil sector needs genuine reforms and a commitment to the rule of law, not political manipulation for the benefit of a select few.
