The Jubilee and ENI partners have announced investment commitments totalling $3.5 billion in Ghana’s oil sector, according to Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) Chief Executive Officer, Simon Madjie.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr Madjie cited the announcements as evidence of sustained activity in the country’s petroleum industry, alongside growing interest from other international oil companies.
The combined investment figure comprises a $2 billion commitment announced by the Jubilee partners to drill 20 wells in the Jubilee field and a separate $1.5 billion commitment announced by ENI and its partners.
“The announcements by the Jubilee partners through Cosmos and Co. that they were going to invest $2 billion to drill 20 wells in the Jubilee field,” he said.
Mr Madjie also referenced the $1.5 billion commitment by ENI and its partners, although he did not provide details of the specific activities the investment would support.
“We saw the $1.5 billion announcement by ENI and their partners and co., and so there’s a lot of activity within that space,” he added.
Beyond the announced investments, the GIPA CEO pointed to further exploration interest involving other international oil companies.
He said Chevron and Shell had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during Africa Oil Week to explore potential opportunities in the Eastern Keta Basin.
“But what we all know is that at Africa Oil Week, Chevron and Shell signed an MOU to look at work in the Eastern Keta Basin. So that’s ongoing,” he said.
Mr Madjie also cited interest from Brazil’s Petrobras in Ghana’s available oil acreages and blocks, noting that the development had been reported in the media.
He, however, directed questions on the technical details of the various developments to the Petroleum Commission and the Ministry of Energy.
“I’m sure folks at the Petroleum Commission will give you a lot more technical details,” he said.
On ExxonMobil, Mr Madjie acknowledged that discussions had taken place regarding a possible return to Ghana but declined to disclose further information.
“I knew that there were some talks for them to come back. It’s not something that can be disclosed now,” he said.
He maintained that any further information on the matter should come from the relevant sector authorities.
“So I, I think you leave that entirely to the Minister of Energy and Petroleum Commission,” he added.
