Negotiations leading to the award of Ghana’ 4 oil blocks in the Tano Basin is expected to start in July 2019.Ahead of that, interested bidders have up till December 20 to present proposals.
Marketing Ghana’s new oil blocks to potential investors has been the pre-occupation of the Petroleum Commission and the Ghanaian team attending the 25th Africa oil week in Cape Town South Africa.
October 15, 2018, Ghana launched the first competitive bidding process in the oil and gas industry. This is a clear departure from the previous arrangement where oil block are awarded through direct negotiations with Government.
Ghana is seeking investment into 6 available oil blocks in the Tano Basin.
The country which is currently producing some 1800 barrels of oil per day is leaving no stone unturned to woo investors interested in these blocks. A road show at this year’s Oil Africa week is part of the overall agenda to market the blocks.
Ghana’s Minister for Petroleum, John Peter Amewu explained to GBC 24 why the platform is necessary.: ”One of the most challenging thing to happen to a county is when its licensing round fails.”
“It is important to do a lot of marketing to make the rounds more attractive to investors. Events like this present the opportunity to market what you have. It is not just by doing a single roadshow but as much as possible. The more investors come, the more you get value for money.”
He noted that award of the blocks to successful bidders is expected by the third Quarter of 2019.”We expect that we will announce a successful bidder by the august 20119″
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Commission, regulators of the of the upstream petroleum sector, has been speaking to investors attending the oil conference.
Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Egbert Faibille stressed on Ghana’s stable political environment, saying: “Ghana is a politically stable country. Your investments are safe in Ghana . Looking at what is happening in the in the world and in the sub-region, Ghana is the place to invest.”
The Deputy Minister of Energy Mohammed Amin Adams is expected to lead Ghana’ official road show on Thursday- the Ghana day. Already, companies already operating in Ghana’s oil sector including some new ones have shown interest in in acquiring the available blocks.
