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Ghana’s offshore basin opens for oil exploration, prospecting

The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh says the country’s offshore basins are opened for oil Exploration and Prospecting (E&P) activities.

He has therefore called on the international investor community to seize the opportunity and invest in the country’soil sector.

“Most parts of the offshore basins are open for E&P activities. Ghana National Petroleum Corporation is currently exploring the Voltaian Basin to establish its prospects, following which the basin will be opened to investors” he said.

Dr Prempeh disclosed this at a strategic road show held in Houston in the United States of America.

He explained that Ghana had four Sedimentary basins of significance to oil and gas and these are the Western, Central, Eastern and the Voltaian basins.

Dr Opoku Prempeh said the Western basin currently had Ghana’s three actively producing deepwater oil and gas fields, adding that the Voltaian basin is onshore and the remaining two are largely offshore.

The minister who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South told investors that the Jubilee Field became Ghana’s first commercial deepwater discovery which further deepened the interest for deep water exploration in Ghana.

“Having fast-tracked the development of the Jubilee Field, first commercial oil production commenced in December 2010, barely 40 months from discovery” he added.

He emphasised that “Two new fields (Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) Field and Sankofa-Gye Nyame Field) have since been brought onstream for production in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The three producing (3) fields currently provide an average daily production of about 150,000 bbl/d from a peak production rate approximately 200,000 bbl/d.”

He further stated that the country’s stable political and business climate, coupled with its, highly prospective sedimentary basin with commensurate high exploration success rate,  guaranteed and attractive fiscal terms as well as well-defined legal and regulatory framework made it competitive for business.

Dr Opoku Prempeh also highlighted the availability of an existing architecture to support infrastructure-led exploration, which shortened the time between exploration and production.

He therefore urged investors to find in Ghana a friend and partner.

The minister also participated in a roundtable discussion together with colleague ministers at the Africa-Houston Energy Summit which was heavy on the investment opportunities in Ghana’s upstream petroleum space.

He was in Houston, Texas, United States of America together with senior officials of the Petroleum Commission, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation(GNPC) and GOIL on an oil and gas roadshow.

The delegation also included officials from Base Energy that sought to promote 5 available oil blocks in offshore Ghana.

These are Deep-Water Cape Three Points Block, Offshore Cape Three Points South Block and Shallow Water Cape Three Points Block.

It also includes the Southwest Saltpond Block as well as the Expanded Shallow Water Tano (ESWT) Block.

BY CLIFF EKUFUL

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