Parliament is expected to ratify ExxonMobil’s Deepwater Cape Three Points block exploration agreement by the close of the year.
Having successfully selected Goil as a local partner as stipulated by Ghana’s petroleum regulations, Minister for Energy John Peter Amewu is hopeful parliament will pass the deal before recess.
Mr. Amewu has been speaking to Business News on the sidelines of the Africa oil week in Cape Town.
Points block was signed with government early this year.
The American oil exploration company, has depth of experience in deep-water drilling. Under the deal, ExxonMobil is expected to carry out the work program as operator and holds 80 percent interest while the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), acting on behalf of the government holds 15 per cent interest.
Per the terms of the agreement, ExxonMobil will work with government to identify a Ghanaian company to potentially hold up to 5 per cent of the interest.
With that out of the way, Energy Minister John Peter Amewu is hopeful of a ratification of the deal by parliament.
However, there are some experts who wished the local partner was an upstream operator.
Ghana is seeking to move its oil production from the current 18 thousand barrels to one million in the near future.
