13. West Cape Three Points Block 2 (673sqkm)
Contract Parties
Springfield E&P (Operator), GNPC EXPLORCO, GNPC
Effective Date/Initial Exploration Period
Effective Date: July 26, 2016
Initial Exploration Period (2.5 years + 2 years extension): July 26, 2016 – January 25, 2021
Minimum Exploration Program (Initial Phase)
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Drill one (1) Exploration Well
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Conduct geological and geophysical studies
Minimum Expenditure
$30,000,000
Observations as of 2017
Initial exploration period was supposed to end in July 2018 but has been extended to 2021. This extension came barely six months into the. Seismic data processing is ongoing.
The contractor has acquired 3D data for processing. The extension granted in 2016 will expire in 2021. However the 9 months granted by Petroleum commission for the company to submit appraisal programme for inherited discoveries is still in default.
No drilling has been made to date.
The Contractor drilled the Afina-1X and made a discovery, indicating in 2020 that the discovery merits appraisal.
Contractor notified the government of its intention to appraise the Afina Cenomanian Discovery with the submission of the Appraisal Program in May.
The Contractor has requested for the extension of deadline for submitting the appraisal programme to 2021 due to the pandemic.
This block is at the pre-development phase after a successful drilling campaign amidst the constraints of the Covid-19 resulted in discoveries on its Afina-1X well.
Springfield claims this discovery straddles Eni’s Sankofa field, but Eni disagrees with the position. The Minister of Energy subsequently directed the unitization of both fields for joint production in October 2020. This directive has led to a protracted legal tussle between the two companies since 2020.
Springfield has filed a suit to enforce the Minister of Energy’s directive. In June 2021, Springfield filed and won an application at a Commercial High Court for the preservation of 30 percent of oil proceeds from the Sankofa Field in an escrow account, pending the final determination of the case commenced by Springfield in respect of the unitization directive. Eni filed for a judicial review of this decision and lost.
In August 2021, Eni filed a lawsuit at the International Tribunal in London to challenge the Minister’s directive to unitize the two fields. As of the time of this report, that case is still pending at the Tribunal, with no conclusive agreement on unitizing the two fields.