Yemisi Izuora/Agency Report
Eni, Vitol and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) have entered an agreement to proceed with the OCTP integrated oil and gas project in Ghana with the president of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, and the Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah
The OCTP development comprises five fields (Sankofa East Cenomanian Oil, Sankofa East, Campanian Oil, Sankofa Main Gas, Sankofa East Gas, Gye Nyame Gas)
First oil is expected in 2017, first gas in 2018 and the peak production will be 80,000 boed in 2019.
The OCTP integrated project is a deep offshore development located approximately 60 kilometres from the Ghanaian Western Region’s coast. It comprises oil and non-associated gas fields and will access around 41 billion cubic metres (1.45 Tcf) of gas and 500 million barrels of oil in place.
“The OCTP development is a robust integrated oil and gas project that will provide the reliable energy source needed to accelerate the economic growth of Ghana by delivering a domestic solution to feed the power sector,” said Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s CEO. “The sanction of this significant project comes after less than two years from the completion of a successful exploration campaign. Once again, in the best tradition of Eni, we deliver fast-track organic growth addressing in a sustainable manner the energy requirements of the host country, in line with the Eni model in Africa.”
The OCTP development comprises five fields (Sankofa East Cenomanian Oil, Sankofa East, Campanian Oil, Sankofa Main Gas, Sankofa East Gas, Gye Nyame Gas). The development of the pure gas fields contained in the project has been described by the World Bank as a ‘top priority’ for Ghana, as it will underpin the growth of a domestic thermal power sector and accelerate Ghana’s industrial development.
The integrated nature of the oil and gas development provides an economically robust project allowing the country to achieve a competitive gas price which will support its economy. Furthermore, the OCTP fields will continuously supply Ghana’s thermal power system, from 2018 to 2036.
The supply will be secured thanks to long term contracts with the government of Ghana. The country will also benefit from additional oil production starting from 2017 through GNPC’s participation in the project and royalties and taxes generated by the production, together with employment and further development of local content.
The project will have a minimal environmental impact being designed for zero flaring and zero discharge. The non-associated gas will provide environmental benefits feeding both existing power plants, replacing light crude oil, and new power plants, expanding the power generation capacity of the country.
Eni, through its own subsidiary Eni Ghana, is block OCTP’s operator with a 47.22 per cent stake. Other partners are Vitol with 37.77 per cent and GNPC with 15 per cent.
Eni has been operating in Ghana since 2009, and present in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1960s. It is currently involved in exploration and production projects in Angola, Congo, Ghana, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia and South Africa. Eni currently produces around 450,000 boed in Sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to successful and rapidly growing exploration activity.