The deputy energy minister, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, has announced that Ghana will soon sell more exploration licenses to improve its oil and gas production as part of efforts to prevent leaving precious fossil resources in the ground.
According to Mercer, the objective is to produce enough cash to fund the country’s energy transition as Ghana recovers progressively from its worst economic crisis in decades after winning a US$3 billion IMF bailout package in May.
“Any investor looking at a temporary hiccup as a basis for decisions in Ghana, I think would be making a mistake,” Mercer said on the sidelines of a seminar during the Singapore International Energy Week, according to Reuters.
“In the post-Russian era, we have all recognised the importance of energy security.” And it’s critical that we don’t get caught off guard,” he added, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Mercer, Ghana is marketing oil and gas blocks that include both new land and fields surrendered by ExxonMobil (US).
“The plan is that we do not want any of our assets to become stranded.” “Because the West’s commitments to the Paris Agreements have never been met, it’s critical for us to fund our own transition or at least a significant portion of it,” he said, referring to international efforts to prevent global warming.
Ghana now produces 160,000-170,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) and approximately 325 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) of natural gas.
After certain upgrade projects, gas output at Sankofa, a large gas field in Ghana and part of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP), has increased to 235 million scfd from 210 million scfd.
Currently, natural gas accounts for around 60% of Ghana’s power generation, heavy oil accounts for 5%, and hydropower and solar account for the remainder.
