Posted on 03/18/2010 3:27:52 PM PDT by bananaman22
A maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire that erupted this month casts doubt on future international oil claims near the contested area and raises questions about the reaction of foreign investors to the uncertainty.
Earlier this month, Côte d’Ivoire appealed to the United Nations to delineate its offshore border with Ghana, a bid seen as controversial since Russia’s Lukoil discovered oil reserves only days before off Ghana’s coast. Ghana’s Jubilee field will also begin operations later this year and give the country commercial oil-producer status.
Ghana found oil in 2006 and analysts estimate it has one billion to two billion barrels in proven oil reserves; Côte d’Ivoire is probably in the same range or has slightly less oil.
The Ghanaian parliament passed a boundary commission bill this week, according to media reports, which have also asserted that Côte d’Ivoire does not expect discussions to regress into a fight over oil rights. The commission would outline the country’s land borders and mark the limits of its maritime boundaries.
While an actual war may not be looming between the African neighbors over the rightful ownership of offshore resources, potential “unclear title right at the margin” will most certainly be a problem, argued Peter Pham, director of the Africa Project at the New York-based National Committee on American Foreign Policy and an associate professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
“I think both sides have a stake in settling this, Full article at: Oil Investors
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