ITLOS Ruling: Expedite Drilling Of Oil—Majority Leader

Majority Leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah has encouraged the immediate drilling of oil at the disputed maritime boundary between Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire to the benefit of the up-coming generation.

According to him, the value and importance of oil after the next 20 years is likely to diminish due to the decision by some advanced countries like America to use only batteries to power cars instead of oil.

“What it means is that if we want to search for oil then we have to be serious and drill that one within the next 10 to 15 years and preserve the money for the up-coming generation so that they will also come and benefit from it,” he said.

The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Saturday gave its ruling in favor of Ghana on the maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast, accepting Ghana’s arguments in the matter.

Tullow Oil, a key player at the TEN fields, says it will resume operations by December 2017, after putting it on hold for two years due to the dispute.

Speaking to Otec FM, the Suame MP stated that apart from the sea which Ghana has discovered oil, research indicates that Ghana can make another oil discovery from the Volta River and for that matter the authorities have to concentrate on that.

Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu however insisted that Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), which receives about a third of the oil revenue is wasting millions of Cedis through activities that are not legally mandated by parliament.