GNPC’s acquisition of two oil blocks to create 10,000 jobs for Ghanaians – Energy Minister

• Government's plans to acquire two stakes from major oil fields is estimated to create 10,000 jobs

•The blocks are in the Deep Water Tano Cape Three Points block and the South Deepwater Tano block

•The decision is meant to control Ghana's oil exploration and production efforts

Government’s quest to acquire two stakes in the offshore oil fields is expected to create some 10,000 jobs for Ghanaians in the oil and gas sector, Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has said.

This comes following government’s initiation of the process to acquire a 37% stake in Deep Water Tano Cape Three Points block and a 70% stake in the South Deepwater Tano block through Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

In a memorandum submitted to Parliament, government projects that the successful delivery of Pecan Phase 1, Nyankom and Pecan Phase 2 will widen local content participation in the oil and gas industry.

“While some of them [jobs] will come from the oil sector, the majority will come from the tax revenues, royalties and profits from the fields being circulated back into economy,” the energy minister said in the memo to Parliament.

He further pointed there will be a significant knowledge transfer programme to GNPC which will be structured around the core competencies of the operator.

“The actual training will occur by secondment of GNPC personnel to the operator company and this is line with the model used by Statoil and Equinor to develop skills to become an operator. They all developed their capacity in piggybacking on the skills of predecessor international oil companies,” Opoku-Prempeh explained.

The two oil blocks which are currently owned by Aker Energy and AGM Petroleum Ghana is expected to increase Ghana’s interest in the oil fields to 47% and 85% respectively.