value of local content to be acquired, delivered and rendered for Guyana.:
- Offences and Penalties (s. 23 of LCA): the law establishes a range of offences and associated penalties for non-compliance with certain provisions of the LCA. So for example, a person or body corporate who submits or causes to be submitted any falsified or misleading documents pursuant to this Act will be guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5 million dollars (for individuals) or $10 million dollars (for a body corporate).
It is noteworthy that in Ghana, in the matter of Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd v. Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Ltd and Vitol Upstream Ghana Ltd; Suit No. CM/BDC/0924/2020 (unreported), [4] the High Court ruled in favor of Springfield E&P, a local company that owned Afina oil block. In this case, Eni and Vitol, an Italian oil and gas firm, failed to follow the directions of the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy, which directed Eni and Vitol to unitise both Afina oil block and Sankofa Field in its operations. However, Eni and Vitol only unitised the Sankofa field, which they operated. The High Court ordered Eni and Vitol to set aside “30 percent of oil proceeds from the Sankofa Field in an escrow account, pending the final determination of [Springfield E&P application]”. [5] It is observed however that while Local Content Policies (LCPs) and legislation have the potential to stimulate broad-based economic development, their use has often achieved mixed results in many extractive developing countries such as Ghana. One such example is Ghana’s Petroleum (Local Content and Local Participations in Petroleum Activities) Regulation, 2013 (LCLP). Notably, the government was seeking
[4] See, https://ejudgment.judicial.gov.gh/
[5] Ghana: High Court Orders ENI & Vitol To Set Aside 30% Of Oil Cash From Sankofa Oil Field Pending Final Determination Of Springfield E&P Case (June 29, 2021) available at https://www.springfieldgroup.com/breaking-news-ghana-high-court-orders-eni-vitol-to-set-aside-30-of-oil-cash-from-sankofa-oil-field-pending-final-determination-of-springfield-ep-case/
