Petroleum Commission will sustain oil, gas industry — Egbert Faibille Jnr
The upstream oil and gas industry regulator, Petroleum Commission, has reaffirmed its commitment to promote sustainable and responsible use of the country's oil and gas resources to enhance national development.
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It said over the years, the commission had successfully implemented initiatives that had enhanced transparency, efficiency and accountability in the sector, and protected the national interest.
At the commission’s annual engagement with the Western Region House of Chiefs, the Chief Executive Officer, Egbert Faibille Jnr, said through collaboration, the commission had developed robust regulatory frameworks that were instrumental in safeguarding the environment and frontline communities.
“With all these, I can report that the future is bright, and I am optimistic that our partnership will thrive, bringing growth and prosperity not only to the region, but to the entire nation,” he said.
The commission provided updates on the upstream oil and gas industry, and discussed matters of mutual interest.
Sustainability
The CEO said his outfit was stepping up efforts to build reserves to serve as a lifeline in ensuring sustainable growth of the industry.
Mr Faibille Jnr said some of the challenges they were facing were as a result of industry surge, including the global pandemic in 2019, and the volatile oil prices which reduced demand and slowed down investment.
“The challenge tested our resilience as regulators and operators. But I am proud to say that together, we adapted to these challenges, finding innovative solutions to keep the industry moving forward,” he said.
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Offshore activities
The CEO said that the commission had three offshore basins and one onshore basin in the upstream oil and gas industry, with current active exploration and production activities being undertaken by the national oil company — Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
At present, he said there were 12 operators, 14 petroleum agreements and three producing fields — Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa Gye Nyame (SGN).
The space saw 30 discoveries being made after the Jubilee discovery in 2007, with the latest being the discovery of the Aprokuma 1X in September, 2022.
Average daily production from the three independent producing fields are approximately 140,000bbl/d and 480MMscf/d of gas supported by various infrastructure, made up of three FPSOs, offshore and onshore pipelines, gas processing plants, ports and proven reserves in excess of 1.035 billion barrels of oil and1.72 trillion standard cubic feet (Tcf) of gas.
Independent fields
The country’s premier oil field, Jubilee, from its inception till August, 2024, was estimated at about 431 million barrels of oil and 750 billion standard cubic feet of gas, with an average daily production currently standing at 90,000 barrels per day.
The TEN field also produced 124 million barrels of oil and 374 billion standard cubic feet of gas, with a daily production of 19,000 barrels of oil per day and 159 million standard (mmscf/d) while the Sankofa OCTP also produced about 100 million barrels and 370 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas, with daily oil production averaging 27,000 bbl/d and 240mmscf/d.
Commendation
The Paramount Chief of the Essikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, commended the regulator for its commitment in engaging stakeholders on their activities.
The engagement with the chiefs formed part of the commission’s annual local content conference and exhibition in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.
Among issues discussed were challenges and opportunities in the sector. There were also projections for the coming year.