The deadline for the proposal of Aker Energy is not Friday – the Ministry of Energy refutes its claims

Company News of Friday, April 26, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-04-26

The Ministry of Energy has refuted the claims of the political think tank, IMANI Africa, that a 30-day deadline to respond to a proposed development plan by oil exploration company Aker Energy regarding new discoveries of oil well expires on Friday.

The vice-chair of the think tank, Kofi Bentil, during a press conference held on Thursday, lamented the fact that the ministry did not respond to the proposal within the deadlines set by law.

In January, Aker Energy announced that it had discovered oil in commercial quantities off Cape Three Point, after taking over from Hess Energy and then presenting the development plan (DDP) to the Ministry of Energy. ;Energy.

The law mandates the Minister of Energy to evaluate the DDA proposal and reject it or approve it within 30 days. Failure to do so within the time indicated means that the proposal has been accepted.

At the press conference, Mr Bentil asked why Energy Minister Peter Amewu had not yet responded to the proposal when the Petroleum Committee had informed him .

Mr. Amewu's casual attitude to the issue when the country's $ 30 billion resource is at stake, confuses the private legal practitioner.

But in correspondence with Joy News's Kojo Manu, the Energy Ministry rejected the April 26 deadline announced by IMANI Africa.

According to the department, "when we look at the interpretation of the days, we talk about working days" and, for them, the delay is far.

The ministry said it would respond to IMANI's claims on Friday.

In an interview on Joy FM's Top Stories, Mr. Bentil insists that the deadline is April 26: "When someone says 30 days, it can be 30 calendar days or whatever, but if you count 30 days, the deadline expires tomorrow. " [April 26]. "

He is surprised by the department's story that nowhere in the agreement was it indicated that it should be 30 working days.

"So it's not safe for you to think it's 30 working days, you could be caught on a chess foot," he added.