Deputy Minister-designate for Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has disclosed that assessment of 3D Seismic data of the Voltarian basin indicates a promising potential of Hydrocarbons.
According to him, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GPNC) has completed assessment and interpretation of the Seismic data it received of the area and can confirm the presence of hydrocarbons.
He stated that the company is expected to drill one well this year, which is captured in the 2021 budget of the government.
Dr. Amin Adam made this disclosure on Thursday, June 10th 2021 when he took his turn at the Appointments Committee of Parliament to be vetted.
According to him, drilling of the well is expected to confirm the level of accumulation, which could lead to oil production onshore for the country.Confirmation of commercial quantities of oil, he said, will be a huge boost not only to the petroleum sector but also for electricity generation.
He pledged to liase with the Energy Minister to revive GNPC EXPLOCO with the requisite resources to participate in exploration activities to discover more oil for Ghana.
Speaking on power cuts and load-shedding, the nominee indicated that Government is working through massive investments to resolve the situation across the country.
He indicated that for a long-term solution the government will support private sector participation in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to improve efficiency.
“Government is determined to achieve universal electricity access and the President has committed this government to 2024 to do this, which means every part of Ghana including the hard to reach areas will have to be given access.”
“I can speak without hesitation that my minister is going to lead us as a team to fulfill the President’s promise of achieving universal access by 2024,” he said.
Dr. Amin Adam noted that the administration is aware of the debts in the power sector that is crippling production but noted said since this government assumed power it has worked to bring down the debt levels from US$2.7 billion to US$1.5 billion.
Responding to a question on the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Act 815, 2011, the nominee stressed the need for petroleum revenue to be spent on legacy projects rather than thinly spreading as is currently applied.
He therefore called for an amendment of the Act to clearly define how unspent Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) should be treated.
Dr. Amin Adam described the exit of Exxon Mobile from Ghana as unfortunate but noted this is a global move by the American Company in response to changes in the US diversification agenda.
He expressed support for the auctioning of petroleum blocks and argued this allows for competition in the sector except direct negotiations, which is permitted by law.
The nominee also spoke about gas development and indicated that domestic gas supply is currently 335 million cubic meters while demand is pegged at 360 million cubic meters.
He noted, however, that given the way the economy is protected to grow over the next few years, demand for gas will eventually grow substantially and therefore the imbalance will be so much.
“Therefore if we do not have a mechanism to fill in the gap we will be constraining our potential to grow our economy,” he said.
Source:MyPublisher24.com