The newly announced oil and gas discovery in Ghana’s Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWTCTP) block has sparked a debate over the contribution of successive governments, with the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, insisting that the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration laid the foundation for the find.
The Afigya Kwabre North MP says key contractual arrangements, regulatory approvals and administrative decisions that paved the way for the exploration campaign were completed under the government of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
His comments come after President John Dramani Mahama announced on Tuesday, November 10, that Planet One Oil and Gas Limited, in partnership with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), had made an oil and gas discovery following the drilling of the Nya Gyidie-1X exploration well.
The discovery contains gas and condensate, although its estimated commercial size is yet to be determined.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, November 11, Mr Adomako-Mensah traced the project’s development to May 2021, when ExxonMobil, the then operator of the DWTCTP contract area, informed the authorities of its decision to relinquish its interest in the block.
He said the Ministry of Energy subsequently approved, in May 2022, the transfer of ExxonMobil’s 80 per cent participating interest to GOIL Offshore, which already held a five per cent stake. The arrangement increased GOIL Offshore’s interest to 85 per cent, while GNPC retained 15 per cent.
According to the MP, the Ministry later directed GOIL Offshore to identify a strategic partner to strengthen its capacity to meet the obligations under the petroleum agreement.
That process, he explained, led to the Ministry’s approval on February 14, 2024, for GOIL Offshore to transfer 75 per cent of its participating interest to Planet One Oil and Gas Limited.
Planet One was subsequently nominated by the partners to become the operator of the contract area, a decision that also received ministerial approval.
Mr Adomako-Mensah further pointed to the extension of the Initial Exploration Period as another critical step that enabled the drilling programme to proceed.
He said the Petroleum Commission granted an initial six-month extension, followed by an additional 18 months, bringing the exploration period to January 2, 2026.
The extension, he noted, was intended to give the companies sufficient time to complete outstanding technical studies and undertake exploratory drilling.
“Thus, by January 7, 2025, when the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration handed over to President Mahama, all the background work from the side of the state culminating in the just announced discovery had been sealed,” he wrote.
The MP argued that the discovery should therefore be viewed in the context of the work undertaken by the previous administration, rather than being credited solely to the government that announced it.
He specifically commended former Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh for his role in the process.
“Let us give credit when necessary!!!!” Mr Adomako-Mensah wrote, adding: “Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh You played a key role. Thanks, sir.”
