Ghana: Agreement on disputed Tano blocks, but ratification awaits

Pan Andean Resources and the government have reached agreement in a dispute which began in March after Parliament ratified the award to Houston-headquartered, Nigerian-owned Camac Energy of the Expanded Shallow Water Tano (ESWT) Block. Some of ESWT’s acreage was already licensed to the Irish-led Pan Andean. Investors welcomed the deal, but observers said parliamentary ratification could take some time, while local civil society activists complain that the events reflect cronyist political practices that still prevail in Ghana. Part of the ESWT Block overlapped acreage in the Tano 2A (T2A) permit, awarded in 2008 to Pan Andean, a venture 60% owned by Dublin-based Clontarf Energy, 30% by Petrel Resources and 10% by local partners.