Offshore operator speaks out about African O&G opportunities

Leveraging the sector for the benefit of the continent

Kadijah Amoah – CEO of Pecan Energies Ghana – believes that Africa’s Ghana’s oil sector holds massive opportunities. “With more African countries emerging as significant energy frontiers, and new discoveries in places like Namibia heralding the establishment of greenfields industries that could really boost regional GDP, there are likely to be many oil businesses entering the continent in years to come,” she says.

Currently developing their interests in deepwater fields offshore Ghana, Amoah says that it is important to understand what energy companies are likely to face as they enter these new territories.

The Ghana oil sector is itself in the early stages of its development, with the first commercial oil coming on stream in 2010, after the discovery of the Jubilee offshore field in 2007. Currently, Ghana produces around 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and about 325 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) of natural gas.

She believes that, as the industry establishes itself, new energy businesses must lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term relationships that unlock prosperity for their host nations.

Pecan Energies is currently in the pre-development phase of our investment, and making good progress towards Final Investment Decision (FID) on our 50 per cent participating interest in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block, 115km offshore Ghana.

The Ghana government has announced its intention to boost oil and gas production by continuing to sell exploration rights, in order to generate revenue to fund its energy transition and avoid economic turbulence.

“The Ghana oil sector may provide some clues as to how emerging frontier territories will develop. For Pecan Energies, while we advance through the early developmental phases of our project, we have looked to lay the foundation for strong local partnerships and ongoing opportunities to develop the domestic sector,” she says while admitting that this is “not an overnight process”.

“We have already been active in Ghana for many years, since our first discovery breakthroughs,” she says confirming that this long-term strategy has allowed them to build a local content plan aimed at developing the local workforce in a progressive and realistic manner.

“Recently, we conducted an internal survey to establish the competency and skill sets of Ghanaian industry professionals and companies, and adjusted our local content plans and targets accordingly, aligning them with industry growth trends.

“With this in mind, we aim to build the capacity of young Ghanaians in the crucial areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which we believe are essential for the future of the Ghanaian economy and the energy sector,” she says adding that the company has also undertaken to provide scholarships at high school and tertiary level.

With a commitment to both local content and balancing growth with sustainability, Amoah believes that Pecan Energies has the right strategy to take advantage of African opportunities.

“We are playing the long game,” she says. “New oil-and-gas relationships are being built in new frontier territories across the continent. For them to survive and prosper, they must involve all role-players and they must be designed – from the outset – to benefit the people of Africa.”

Scheduled to participate in the upcoming Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, Amoah says that it is important to leverage pan-African and international engagement platforms to advocate for responsible exploration and production that truly benefits the community and the continent as well as increased investment in renewable energy by African countries.

“We believe this can be achieved by reinvesting the revenues derived from oil production into renewable energy initiatives,” she adds.