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Bloomberg
Ghana’s government directed Eni SpA to start talks on combining its deposit at an offshore field with a neighbouring explorer, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg.
The Italian major, which operates the Sankofa Oil and Gas fields in a venture with Vitol Holding, has 120 days to
conclude a draft so-called unitisation and operating agreement with Springfield Exploration and Production, Minister of Energy John-Peter Amewu wrote in a letter. Eni is opposing such a move on the basis that Springfield hasn’t sufficiently tested its discovery to show that it shares a reservoir with the Sankofa field, said Amewu.
Recent drilling on the Springfield block showed that its deposit has properties that are identical to the Sankofa reservoir, providing “further evidence that the two reservoirs are one and the same,†said Amewu. Springfield, owned by local investors, reported in December that the field has 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves. Spokespeople for the energy ministry and Eni confirmed the correspondence while declining to comment further. A spokesman for Springfield didn’t answer calls.