News Guide Africa

Tag: Benjamin Boakye

  • ACEP Boss questions govt’s current approach to local content in energy projects

     

    Africa centre energy policy

     

     

     

    Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has questioned the government’s current approach to local content in energy projects.

     

    He describes the government’s current approach as superficial.

     

    “Local content should not mean just putting a Ghanaian face on a business. It should involve building production capacity within the country,” he said during NorvanReports and Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) X Space discussion on “Powering Ghana’s Future: Political Promises vs CSO Demands – Are We Ready for the Green Shift?”,

     

    He added that policies should focus on skills transfer, local innovation, and long-term economic growth.

     

     

    To position Ghana as a leader in renewable energy, Mr Boakye called for investment in research and development, support for student-led innovations, and the creation of local prototypes.

     

     

    He referenced Brazil’s ethanol success story as an example of how targeted investments can yield significant economic benefits.

     

    “We should think about producing energy locally, not just importing solutions,” he urged.

     

     

  • Springfield refutes ACEP’s Afina Field appraisal discrepancy claims

    Springfield

     

     

    Springfield Exploration and Production Limited has denied recent assertions made by Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre of Energy Policy (ACEP), regarding an alleged contradiction in the company’s appraisal of the Afina field.

     

    The claims arose during the ongoing International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in October 2024.

     

    Mr. Boakye suggested in a recent interview that Springfield’s latest appraisal report conflicted with the original data presented to justify the unitisation of the Afina field.

     

    However, Mr Kevin Okyere, Chief Executive of Springfield, addressed the media to clarify the company’s position.

     

    Mr Okyere stated that Springfield had only just begun its appraisal programme and had not yet gathered the necessary data to produce an official report.

     

    He dismissed ACEP’s claims as “blatantly false,” and added that no new appraisal report existed at this stage.

     

    “There have been recent media reports implying that Springfield has completed an appraisal of the Afina field and that this report contradicts the original data. This is blatantly false,” Mr Okyere said.

     

    The CEO further revealed that Springfield had formally requested that Mr Boakye retract his comments and issue an apology, warning of potential legal action if he failed to comply.

     

     

    “We have just commenced implementation of our appraisal programme and are yet to acquire the relevant data, process it, and submit our appraisal report,” Mr Okyere added.

     

    Springfield Exploration and Production Limited and its partners GNPC and EXPLORCO made the Afina field discovery around five years ago. It followed the successful drilling of the Afina-1x Well at the West Cape Three Points Block 2 offshore.

     

    Following the discovery, Springfield became involved in a dispute with Eni over the unitization of the Afina and Sankofa fields.

     

    The appraisal of the Afina discovery was deferred pending the outcome of this unitization dispute.

     

    A subsequent arbitral tribunal ruling directed all parties involved to submit and conduct an appraisal programme by their Petroleum Agreement.