ACEP Raises Serious Red Flags Over GNPC’s Capacity, Data Credibility and Fiscal Risks in Springfield WCTP-2 Potential Takeover
Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has made a blistering critique of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), questioning its governance, technical credibility and financial discipline in the ongoing Springfield WCTP-2 potential takeover.
Speaking during the NorvanReports, Economic Governance Platform (EGP) and Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) X Space Discussion themed “Beyond the Headlines: Technical Evidence, Financial Exposure and Government Options on the Springfield WCTP-2 Block” on Sunday, December 7, Mr Boakye warned that continuing to channel public funds into GNPC under its current structure amounts to “a waste of investment and resources.”
According to him, the Corporation has consistently failed to justify state capital injections, despite receiving significant allocations in the past. He cited the block awarded to GNPC during the licensing round, which he says remains dormant, as well as earlier funds that remained idle in its accounts while the national budget struggled for fiscal space.
Mr Boakye stressed that the core technical uncertainties surrounding the Springfield block — including the absence of proper appraisal drilling, disputed well data, and inconsistencies in petroleum measurements submitted to the Petroleum Commission — raise fundamental questions about the viability of the current transaction.
He noted that the decision to re-enter an existing well and categorise it as an appraisal programme by Springfield was flawed from the onset, adding that the data supplied to the Petroleum Commission contradicted earlier submissions from the operator (Springfield). The Commission, he argued, proceeded to approve a programme that should have required deeper scrutiny, especially given the unresolved discrepancies in the reservoir information.
The ACEP boss also revealed that for almost three months after drilling, critical pressure and operational data were not submitted to the regulator despite mandatory requirements. The Commission had to formally write to the operator before the information was eventually provided — a situation he described as unacceptable in an industry that depends on strict technical discipline.
He questioned what data the government is relying on to express interest in acquiring the block, particularly given reports that sections of the dataset were later described as “corrupted.”
Mr Boakye further criticised the political interference that, in his view, has weakened the technical institutions mandated to protect the national interest. He stressed that Ghana’s petroleum governance challenges — including procurement abuses, weak oversight and compromised analysis — are not due to a lack of technical expertise but the dominance of political decision-making over professional judgment.
On the broader sector, the ACEP director warned that Ghana has already suffered reputational damage through international arbitration cases involving Tullow and ENI, and urged government to prioritise transparent commercial arrangements that will rebuild investor confidence.
He also cautioned strongly against shifting private exploration risks onto the state, insisting that “if the risk backfires, it should not become the burden of the taxpayer.” The push for government to acquire interests in fields where data remains questionable, he noted, exposes the state to avoidable liabilities.
Touching on local content, he welcomed opportunities for Ghanaian companies to provide services such as logistics, transport and supply of equipment — which he described as guaranteed-income areas — but warned against pushing them prematurely into high-risk upstream ventures where a single failed drilling attempt could collapse their entire business.
With Ghana’s historical exploration success rate below 20%, Mr Boakye insisted that exposing local firms to such risky ventures would be irresponsible.
He also called for further transparency in the planned independent valuation process of the Springfield takeover by government, urging the government to open competitive bidding to credible international consultants. This, he said, would give clarity on the true commercial value of the Afina asset and potentially resolve long-standing disputes over the reliability of Springfield’s technical data.
