Oil block auction set to begin in October

The third annual Regional Energy Co-operation Summit ended in Accra last Thursday with confirmation of competitive bidding for oil block set to commence next month.

Speaking at the close of the three-day summit, the Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Power, William Aidoo stated that “Ghana for the first time is going to conduct and open a competitive bidding round for the allocation of new oil blocks.”

“We look forward to the formal announcement of the competitive bidding round in October this year. This will pave the way for companies who express interest, leading to bidding and awarding of new oil and gas blocks,” he said.

In accordance with the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (Act 919), a 23-member committee was constituted and tasked with the responsibility of allocating oil blocks for commercial exploration to local and international companies.

The summit brought together policymakers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other private sector stakeholders to explore the energy infrastructure in the sub-region.

Mr Aidoo commended the organisers of the summit for contributing to the government’s efforts in deepening the co-operation within the Africa region and the collective programmes and initiatives for energy development.

As part of Ghana Grid Company Limited GRIDCo’s 10th anniversary celebration, Mr Jonathan Amoako-Baah, Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, presented the vision for the future of transmission networks in West Africa while Samuel Boakye-Appiah, Managing Director, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), presented the latest developments on the Private Sector Privatisation (PSP) as part of Ghana’s energy sector reform.