Springfield Exploration and Production Limited has started appraising Afina-1x Well at the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block 2 offshore, barely three months after an International Tribunal directed the government to let Springfield do further work to complete the Afina-Sankofa unitisation.

The Deepsea Bollsta deep offshore Rig, contracted by Springfield from Northern Ocean, a reputable Norwegian company, arrived at the field on Thursday, October 17, 2024, to commence operations to execute the company’s mandate.

This is in fulfilment of SEP’s pledge to appraise the Afina-1x well within three months of the ruling, showing its mettle as a resilient Ghanaian energy company operating in deepwater.

Springfield announced that it had invested over $60 million for the ongoing well-test and appraisal, an incredible feat for an indigenous company.

The Tribunal, on July 8, this year, adjudicating between the government and Eni Ghana Exploration and Production and Vitol Energy, declared that the government was well within its rights under the laws of Ghana to issue a unitisation directive.

However, some further works needed to be executed for unitisation to be completed. The tribunal specified a maximum of six months for the unitisation to be completed, once the work was completed.

Springfield subsequently issued a statement indicating its acceptance of all judicial directives, local and international, and pledged to do exactly as had been directed. 

Tenacity, resilience

The indigenous energy company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kevin Okyere, said the company’s tenacity and resilience was a testament to its commitment to succeed to motivate the average African that “nothing is impossible if they set their minds to it”.

“We have a clear understanding of what being an upstream operator entails and so we have hired the best possible team with over 60 years of collective experience working for all the super-majors and majors of the world and we work with all the best bluechip companies to execute all technical works, studies and drilling programmes”.

“Being a smaller operator, but working with the same expertise and diligence as the big operators, we can make decisions swiftly to benefit all our stakeholders, including the government and people of Ghana,” he stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic about the commencement of the Afina-1x Appraisal.

Rig

He said one of the most critical challenges in the industry at this time was how to secure the services of an efficient rig and, thankfully, the Deepsea Bollsta which had a good track record was here for the job.

“Our research has shown that during this busy time in the drilling industry, rigs would not be available for another year and yet Springfield managed to find one and drilling commenced. This has all happened within a space of three months,” Mr Okyere said.

The CEO of Springfield said the move was consistent with its track record and show of resilience, explaining that despite the challenges the company had faced, it always bounced back stronger and found solutions for every situation it found itself in.

Mr Okyere was upbeat about the outcome of the appraisal, saying the data before them was very positive and that the team was out to confirm it.