Tullow set to resume TEN drilling after maritime dispute ruling

An international tribunal has made a final ruling resolving a maritime dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Ghana and Ivory Coast in the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg has determined a maritime boundary and has found that Ghana did not violate the sovereign rights of Ivory Coast by conducting oil and gas activities in the disputed area.

Namely, the tribunal has found that Ghana suspended its activities by implementing its obligations in accordance with the Order of the Special Chamber of 25 April 2015 namely to ensure that no new drilling either by Ghana or under its control would take place in the disputed area.

To remind,  the issue had threatened to hamper the development on Tullow’s TEN field which is located in the disputed area.

Responding to the ITLOS ruling, Tullow oil said that the new maritime boundary as determined by the tribunal “does not affect the TEN fields.”

Tullow said it would work with the Government of Ghana to put in place the necessary permits to allow the restart of development drilling in the TEN fields.

Tullow expects to resume drilling around the end of the year which will allow production from the TEN fields to start to increase towards the FPSO design capacity of 80,000 bopd.

Tullow CEO, Paul McDade, said: “Tullow looks forward to continuing to work constructively with the Governments of both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire following the conclusion of this process. While the TEN fields have performed well during the period of the drilling moratorium, we can now restart work on the additional drilling planned as part of the TEN fields’ plan of development and take the fields towards their full potential.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff