Ghana inches towards ultra-deep-water exploration, production

THE Government has expressed its resolve to extend the country’s upstream oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activities towards ultra-deep-water in its quest to ensure a sustainable and long-term industry.

Speaking at the annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition, the Minister of Energy, Herbert Krapa, said venturing into the ultra-deep-water required even more complexity, and sophistication of the highest level of modern technologies and huge capital investments. 

He said aside from that all aspects of the existing legal and regulatory framework had been reviewed to attract new investments for exploration and production (E&P) activities. 

In the oil and gas space, he said “Our upstream petroleum sector, despite recent challenges, remains hugely attractive, with endless opportunities for prospective investors.”

The three-day conference is on the theme; “Attracting Exploration & Production Investments to Boost Local Content, New Pathways” 

 
Discoveries

Recent discoveries, he said, had largely de-risked the deepwater geology of the country. “Our stable regulatory regime has sustained interest in our country, and we are seeing more and more companies visiting the Petroleum Commission (PC’s) Data Room, with renewed confidence to do business with us.”

We are working to make the country’s investment climate more favourable now than ever before. Our regulatory regime guarantees sanctity of contracts and unrestricted profit and dividend repatriation, and investors are assured of transparency, fairness and regulatory predictability. Our vision as a country is to build a Ghana which uses her own resources and looks not to another to build ours.”

These reforms, the minister said, should encourage existing companies to continue to invest in new drilling activities and optimise recovery from existing fields. 

Mr Krapa said amendments had been made to the Petroleum (Exploration & Production) General Regulations, L.I. 2359 to permit the Minister for Energy to grant approval for the conduct of exploration within Development and Production Areas, and for the Petroleum Commission to expand the delineation of DPAs to cover prospects and leads in contract areas. 

He said acts had stimulated conversations about Infrastructure-Led Exploration, with existing infrastructure expected to play a central role in motivating new investments in exploration. 

Reforms

Regulatory reforms, he said, had also introduced flexible relinquishment arrangements, to enable contractors retain some prospects and leads for exploration, and extension of contract areas into adjoining open acreages, to exploit low risk prospects (without need for new Petroleum Agreements).

“We are pursuing aggressive investment promotions, particularly in the Eastern offshore Ghana and Tano Basins to attract private capital for exploration and production.

As a result we are continually evolving our fiscal regime – to make it more attractive for investment – with the focus on sizes of discovery, water depths and investment risk, development and operating costs, and market conditions such as crude oil price.

The ministry, he said, was also conscious to rationalise the national oil company’s participation and minimise front-load elements of the fiscal system. 

“Our plan is to continually evolve our fiscal terms to be more progressive for investment; but I should assure you also, that we are not giving away our oil resources on a silver platter in the name of investment attraction, nor under the high pressures of Energy Transition,” he said. 

The country, he said, would continue to ensure a fair share of the country’s oil and gas resources for all our country’s people, and we will guarantee reasonable returns on investments, while doing so,” he said. 

Industry

Mr Krapa said one other area that required attention was its quest to form partnerships to expand the country's own gas processing and transportation infrastructure – for an accelerated gas-led industrialisation. 

The changing energy dynamics, the minister said, had renewed its conviction to reform and enhance the capacity of the national oil company – Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).   

He said the fact remained that “No other nation has stronger credentials as a worthier investment destination in West Africa than Ghana. 

The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, commended the commission for continuing efforts in sustaining the annual conference.

He enumerated various contributions to the emergence of the oil and gas industry in the country with the region being the premier host of the industry.