Partners in Ghana’s Jubilee and Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) oil fields have committed about US$2 billion in new investment after their petroleum agreements were extended to December 2040.
The investment will fund further development of the two fields and support Ghana’s upstream oil production, according to Emeafa Hardcastle, chief executive of the Petroleum Commission.
Speaking to the Western Regional House of Chiefs in Sekondi on Monday, November 9, Ms Hardcastle said the extended agreements had secured the partners’ investment plans.
The Deep Water Tano and West Cape Three Points agreements were both extended. Parliament ratified the extensions in February 2026, with the aim of encouraging upstream investment and addressing declining output.
The approvals coincided with Tullow Ghana’s acquisition of the TEN floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Ms Hardcastle was addressing the chiefs during the Petroleum Commission’s 12th annual meeting. She also provided updates on the Bakanta Road project and Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
She said a review of Ghana’s upstream petroleum laws, regulations and fiscal arrangements had been completed by the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition.
The proposed changes are now before Cabinet. If approved, they will be submitted to Parliament for consideration.
According to Ms Hardcastle, the reforms are intended to provide oil and gas operators with greater regulatory certainty and improve Ghana’s ability to attract major international oil companies.
Exploration plans
The Eban-Akoma discovery has been declared commercial after the completion of its appraisal programme, Ms Hardcastle said.
The Petroleum Commission is examining the contractor’s Plan of Development for the discovery, which is located within the Cape Three Points Block Four Contract Area.
Further north, GNPC Explorco has completed studies in the onshore Voltaian Basin and selected a location for an exploration well.
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation subsidiary is currently seeking a drilling rig. The well is expected to be drilled either during the final three months of 2026 or in the opening quarter of 2027.
Ms Hardcastle also told the meeting that the government had stopped plans for offshore reconnaissance mining in Ghanaian waters.
The decision followed complaints that there had been insufficient consultation. The concerns were raised by the Fisheries Commission and the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council.
She added that the Petroleum Commission had not been consulted before the proposal moved forward.
The president of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Nana Kobena Nketsia V, urged the Petroleum Commission to plan its development projects in a way that delivered clear and practical benefits to communities affected by oil and gas activity.
He also called for capacity-building support for staff working at both the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs.
