Ghana Wins Injunction Sought By Cote d`Ivoire At International Maritime Tribunal

The International Maritime Tribunal has ruled that Ghana can continue production in a multi-billion dollar offshore oil development in an area caught up in a border dispute with Cote d’Ivoire. 

The tribunal has however asked Ghana not to start new exploration until the further determination of the substantive case. 

The decision means that Ghana can continue production from existing oil fields in the disputed area but not start new exploration.  

President of the Special Chamber, Judge Boualem Bouguetaia, disclosed this after the ruling was released. 

The ruling was welcomed by British company Tullow, and the government of Ghana. The project is due to go on stream in mid-2016.  

The International Monetary Fund agreed to an aid deal this month to help Ghana restore fiscal stability in the face of a high debt-to-GDP ratio and a budget deficit, and the government is counting on revenue from the TEN project. 

Cote d'Ivoire, in February asked the Hamburg-based International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea to issue a moratorium on oil activity by Ghana in the area while legal hearings are held.  

The court is expected to make a final ruling on the dispute in 2017.

REUTERS