Tullow Ghana Limited remains committed to harnessing the huge potential of hydrocarbons in Ghana’s offshore fields, the Managing Director (MD) of the company, Jean-Medard Madama, has reiterated.
He said “We continue to see potential for the Jubilee and the TEN Fields– an all been witness to the success of the Jubilee South East project, which has increased production in the Jubilee Field.”
Mr Madama gave the assurance at the just-ended Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE), organised by the Petroleum Commission in Takoradi, on the theme: “Attracting exploration and production investments to boost local content – new pathways”.
The oil and gas sector, he noted, contributed significantly to Ghana’s Gross Domestic (GDP), and said future outlooks spoke about increased contributions by attracting exploration and production investments.
Mr Madama indicated that Tullow’s gas production had been crucial to the constant supply of electricity for Ghana through the regulator, and will ensure that the country was able to utilise and export natural gas, leading to increased foreign capacity.
Tullow, he said, expected that the negotiation of the TEN amendment plan of development would be concluded soon, to pave the way and unlock for over $1 billion investment by joint venture partners to the industry.
The MD said “We all recognise that investment decisions such as this require to follow competitive process, over competing rates investment, bankability of project and the efficiency of the approval.”
Mr Madama said “I am proud that, last year, out of $1.17 billion investments, $1.12 billion was invested towards ingenious indigenous companies. Local joint venture is a true vote of confidence in our people, companies and resources.”
The General Manager, Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations, Ghana, National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr Kwame Baah Nuakoh, said Ghana was working with partners in other fields for the country to develop its God’s given natural resources in the oil and gas sector.
He highlighted that the energy transition was real, and stressed “we need to ensure the transition is done at the pace that allows African countries and other developing countries to use its natural resources for its development.”
Dr Nuakoh recognised that the transition had implications for the oil and gas sector in terms of finance, the sources of finances for investing and also competition.
He also said, energy transition, had effects on markets, and asked “if the West decides not to use the oil and gas resources, what would we do with our resources?”
Dr Nuakoh suggested Ghana created markets not just for domestic market, but across the continent, “so that we have a wider market for the resources that potentially are going to be stranded.”
He noted that Ghana and Nigeria had shown the way with the West Africa gas pipeline, and “so it is time Ghana looked at cross-border facilities for oil and gas production to harness regional markets.”
Dr Nuakoh said the GNPC had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo (SNPC), to explore the possibility of SNPC subsidiary, which owns oil rigs, onshore oil rigs, lending oil rigs to Ghana for the exploration of some basins.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
