Ghana’s Petroleum Agreement Is One Of The Best… Says Alex Mould

By Emmanuel Akli
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr. Alex Mould, has noted that the petroleum agreement Ghana has entered into with its Tweneboah, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) partners is one of the best in the industry.

GNPC currently holds 15% shares in the field on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, with the remaining 85% being shared among Tullow-47.185%, Kosmos Energy-17%, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation-17%, and PetroSA-3.815%.

Some industry players are, however, arguing that Ghana's shareholding could have been better than the mere 15% being held by the GNPC, since the commodity has been struck in commercial quantities in Ghanaian territorial waters.

But, speaking at a media engagement prior to the pouring of the first oil from the TEN fields in a few days time, Mr. Mould noted that Ghana's share would have been higher than the current 15%, if she had also taken the risk to invest in the exploration activities, as done by the other partners.

Available records show that the TEN partners have so far invested a whopping $4 billion from the exploration up to the current level, where the first oil is about to be poured from the 300 million barrels deposits (80 oil and 20% gas) that has been discovered.

If the partners had failed to strike the precious commodity, these huge investments would have gone waste, resulting in a big loss to the investors. But since the Ghana of government did not take part in the risk, it would not have been called upon for any debt repayment.

The GNPC CEO told the journalists that Ghana could have also gone to the capital market to borrow to invest in the exploration, but that decision was not taken, because of the risk involved.

According to him, apart from the taxes on profits, royalties and others that would accrue to the State of Ghana, overall proceeds could also go up beyond the current threshold if the partners are able to recoup their investment.

He, therefore, advised Ghanaians to look at the overall economic benefit that would accrue to the nation in the long term, instead of dwelling on the 15% shares.

The Chronicle understands that, depending on the crude oil prices, if the partners are able to recoup beyond a certain threshold of their investment per year, the government of Ghana would be entitled to part of the profit.

This means that the interest would go beyond the current 15% shares. Mr Mould also touched on why the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is not refining crude from the jubilee partners.

According to him, TOR has the capability to refine sweet crude oil from the Jubilee fields, and what is preventing them is financing.

He said if TOR has the capacity to raise letters of credit, the jubilee partners would be obliged to sell the commodity to them under the terms and conditions they sell the crude at the international market.

The TEN partners signed a development agreement with the government in May 2013, and have so far drilled 24 wells, out of which they are currently working in 10.

The field has capacity of 80,000 barrels per day when production reaches its peak. It also has an overall oil deposit of 300 million barrels, which could be mined for the next 20 years.

FPSO Atta Mills, which is to be used for the storage and production process, has already arrived in the country. It has capacity to accommodate approximately 120 workers, with a size of 350m long and 56m wide.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the Petroleum Commission, Mr. Theophilus Ahwireng, has disclosed that judgment regarding the dispute surrounding the TEN fields would be delivered in the middle of next year.

According to him, the Attorney General has furnished the international court handling the case her submissions. Ivory Coast dragged the government to the international court claiming ownership of the field, after billions of dollars had been sunk into its development.