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The Chief Executive Officer of AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited (AGM), Mr Atle Andresen, says the company’s entry into Ghana’s upstream oil and gas space signifies hope for the oil industry in the country.

Parliament has ratified the revised petroleum agreement for the South Deepwater Tano (SDWT) block, off the coast of the Western Region, for AGM.

The agreement ratified by Parliament last Friday, gives a fiscal take to Ghana, which is substantially above the international deep-water average of approximately 55 per cent.

With the ratification, the company is set to begin exploring for oil in the ultra-deep-water block, which is over 3.5 kilometres below sea level.

In a statement, Mr Andresen said: “We hope and believe this will be the beginning of a long and prosperous journey together with the Ghanaian people that will create wealth and opportunity for generations to come”.

The partners

The company, which is the operator in the South Deepwater Tano block, holds 80 per cent participating interest.

The other partners are the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), with a 15 per cent carried interest, and Quad Energy, with a five per cent paying interest, as the indigenous local partners of AGM.

The Director of Quad Energy, Mr David Adomakoh, said they were looking forward to a fruitful long-term relationship with the lead operator, AGM.

He pledged the partner’s commitment to work together to unlock the hydrocarbon potential of the South Deepwater Tano block for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“This will give us a unique opportunity to maximise the participation of our local oil and gas services companies,” he said.

In a separate statement, the company admitted that there had been a lot of public interest in recent weeks relating to the country’s upstream oil and gas industry and in particular AGM, which is the operator in the SDWT block.

About benefits

It said despite questions being raised about the benefits of the latest petroleum agreement to the people of Ghana, the country would be the main beneficiary of the profits from any oil produced in the SDWT block.

“The reality is that the Government of Ghana has negotiated terms that now makes the development of the block sufficiently attractive for international investors and operators in the industry,” the statement said.

Four wells

It said in comparison to the recently-approved Petroleum Agreement in the same region, the terms in the SDWT block were more favourable to the country, with the AGM having committed itself to a significantly larger work programme - drilling four wells and a sizeable seismic activity.

The company said it was looking forward to working with its partners, suppliers and the national oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Petroleum Commission, the Ministry of Energy and other important stakeholders to conduct operations in a safe and transparent manner.

People of Ghana

The statement said the company was pleased that Parliament had approved the agreement, and subject to successful exploration, the company was looking forward to developing the resources on behalf of and together with the Ghanaian people.

It explained that if the exploration activities proved unsuccessful, the operator would bear all the financial risks and burden.

“We are grateful for the opportunity given to us to explore for oil and gas in the SDWT block, together with our partners,” it added.

AGM Petroleum

AGM Petroleum Ghana (AGM) is a private oil and gas exploration company founded in Ghana in 2012.

The company has offices in Oslo, Norway and Accra.