GOIL Upstream Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of GOIL PLC, a leading indigenous oil and gas player in the Republic of Ghana, has finally found a partner for the Deepwater Cape Three Point (DWCTP) oil block which was abandoned by US oil supermajor, ExxonMobil, in 2021.
For over two years, the Ghanaian oil firm searched for a partner for the oil block and luckily for them, they have found a Dubai- based Planet One Group as their partner.
ExxonMobil was controlled 80 per cent stake in the block while Ghana Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the national oil company, held 15 per cent, with the remaining five per cent being held by GOIL Upstream.
However, after ExxonMobil’s withdrawal, GOIL Upstream Ghana was assigned the 80 per cent Participation Interest hitherto held by Exxon and directed to secure a farm in Partner.
The US oil supermajor invested close to US$50 million in the block, including acquiring seismic data before abandoning it.
On the sidelines of the COP28 in Dubai, UAE, recently, top officials of Planet One Group and officials of GOIL PLC, CEO of Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr, CEO of GNPC, Opoku Ahwenee-Danquah, and Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, held a brief ceremony, where the Minister supervised the signing of Farm-in and Joint Operating Agreements between Planet One Group and GOIL PLC.
The Group Chief Executive Officer and MD of GOIL PLC, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, and the Chief Executive Officer of Planet One Oil and Gas Limited, Deepak Balaji, signed for their respective companies.
The agreement, which is subject to the approval of the Minister for Energy per the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919) and its Regulations would give Planet One Group rights in the Deep-Water Cape Three Points Block.
In an interview with energynewsafrica.com via the telephone, the Managing Director of GOIL PLC, Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, expressed excitement that their search for a partner has been successful.
According to him, after approval of the deal by the Minister, Planet One Group would be assigned 75 per cent stake, with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation holding 20 per cent while GOIL Upstream would hold the remaining five per cent stake.
The Managing Director of Planet One, Deepak Balaji, on his part, expressed optimism that the approval processes would be completed soon for the block to be operated for the benefit of the two parties.
“What has happened here today is very simple –the first agreement signed was a Farm-in agreement which allows Planet One the rights in the operation of the block under the Petroleum Agreement in the Deep-Water Cape Three Point Block.
The second agreement was a Joint Operating Agreement that seeks to regulate how GOIL Upstream and Planet One will work together to meet the contractual obligations under the Petroleum Agreement” said Mr Thomas Manu, Board Member for GOIL Upstream Ghana Limited.
The Minister for Energy, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, commended the efforts of GOIL in successfully finding a partner and urged the parties to work harder to achieve the DWCTP project goals.
He advised the parties to stay committed to the highest standards of Environmental Social Governance and take into consideration green energy solutions in the management of the DWCTP project.