He says key government approvals and regulatory processes relating to the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWTCTP) Contract Area had been completed before the administration handed over power to President John Mahama on 7 January 2025.
In a Facebook post explaining the history of the project, the Afigya Kwabre North MP said the process began with ExxonMobil’s decision to relinquish its participating interest in the contract area in May 2021.
At the time, ExxonMobil held an 80 per cent participating interest, while the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) held 15 per cent and GOIL Offshore, formerly GOIL Upstream Limited, held five per cent.
According to Collins Adomako-Mensah, GOIL Offshore subsequently expressed its willingness to continue operations in the contract area in a letter dated 26 April 2022 to the then Minister for Energy.
The Ministry, in a response dated 18 May 2022, approved the transfer of ExxonMobil’s 80 per cent interest to GOIL Offshore, increasing the company’s stake to 85 per cent, with GNPC retaining its 15 per cent interest.
The Ministry also directed GOIL Offshore to secure a strategic partner to enable it to meet its obligations under the petroleum agreement.
The MP said the next major development occurred on 14 December 2023, when GOIL Offshore sought approval from the Ministry of Energy to transfer 75 per cent of its 85 per cent participating interest to Planet One.
The Ministry granted the approval in a letter dated 14 February 2024, following which the two companies jointly acknowledged the decision in a letter dated 16 February 2024.
The companies subsequently executed a Farm-Out and Joint Operating Agreement.
On 23 May 2024, GOIL Offshore informed the Ministry that the partners had nominated Planet One as the operator of the DWTCTP Contract Area.
The Ministry subsequently approved the nomination, paving the way for Planet One to assume operatorship of the project.
Collins Adomako-Mensah further explained that the partners sought an extension of the Initial Exploration Period (IEP) to enable them to complete outstanding technical studies and finalise plans for drilling an exploratory well.
He said the request was initially communicated to the Ministry in a joint letter dated 5 January 2024, with a subsequent letter submitted on 1 July 2024.
The Ministry referred the request to the Petroleum Commission in a letter dated 12 July 2024, recommending that the extension be granted.
However, the Petroleum Commission had already written to GOIL Offshore and Planet One on 11 July 2024, approving a two-part extension to the exploration period.
The first was a six-month extension, from 2 January 2024 to 2 July 2024, to account for time lost during the completion of the farm-out process.
The second was an additional 18-month extension, commencing on 1 July 2024 and ending on 2 January 2026.
The two extensions amounted to 24 months.
According to the MP, the Petroleum Commission made it clear that the additional period was intended to enable the companies to undertake further studies and drill an exploration well.
He argued that these regulatory and administrative processes, which were critical to advancing the project, had been completed before the change of government in January 2025.
“Thus, by January 7, 2025 when the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration handed over to President Mahama, all the background work from the side of the state culminating in the just announced discovery had been sealed,” he said.
The Energy Committee Ranking Member urged the public to acknowledge the contribution of the previous administration to the development of the project.
He specifically commended former Energy Minister and former Vice-President, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, for what he described as his key role in the process.
“Let us give credit when necessary!” he said, adding: “Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, you played a key role. Thanks sir.”
