GOIL Upstream Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of GOIL PLC with a mandate to operate in the upstream space of the industry, on Wednesday 6th December, 2023, signed Farm-in and Joint Operating Agreements with Planet One Group, a natural resources company, on the margins of COP28 in Dubai, UAE.
These agreements, subject to the approval of the Minister for Energy per the dictates of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 919) and its Regulations will give Planet One Group rights in the Deep-Water Cape Three Points Block, Offshore Ghana within the stipulations of the Petroleum Agreement.
At a brief signing ceremony, which had the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, CEOs of the Petroleum Commission and GNPC in attendance, the Managing Director of the GOIL PLC, Kwame Osei Prempeh expressed satisfaction that the agreements have been signed subject to final approval by the Minister. Managing Director of Planet One, Deepak Balaji, on his part expressed optimism that the approval processes will 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 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 Petroleum Agreement (PA) in respect of the Deep-Water Cape Three Point (DWCTP) block became effective on 3rd April 2019 after Parliamentary ratification.
This was between the Government of the Republic of Ghana, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ghana (Deepwater) Limited and GOIL Upstream Ghana Limited. After the exit of ExxonMobil, GOIL Upstream set out to find a strategic partner to undertake the rest of the contractor’s obligations under the PA culminating in this milestone.
It is expected that, with this partnership, the obligations of the contractor in the DWCTP Block will be executed expeditiously to ensure the realization of the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in the block.