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Unitisation to ensure Ghanaian production growth
The recent decision by Ghana’s Ministry of Energy to unitise the Sankofa and Afina fields located within Eni’s Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block and Springfield E&P’s West Cape Three Points block 2 (WCTP2) paves the way not only for an African independent to participate in the development of one of Ghana’s biggest producing assets, but also to ensure continued and increased production of oil and gas, says the African Energy Chamber.
First oil was achieved from the Sankofa and Gye Nyame fields within the OCTP licence in 2017, followed by first gas in 2018. Three years later, OCTP has become Ghana’s biggest gas producing asset and its second biggest oil production hub. Because it has been officially confirmed that the same Cenomanian Channel straddles both the OCTP block and WCTP2 block, a unitisation of Sankofa with the Afina discovery made last year by Springfield E&P is the fairest and most logical thing to do, according to the Chamber.
The upcoming unitisation will give Springfield E&P, Ghana’s leading local company, a boost by ensuring its participation in the development of a world-class deepwater asset. Such developments are not only positive from a capacity building and technology transfer perspective, but are also the most cost-efficient way to maximise the development of reserves found within similar structures even shared by various licensees, says the Chamber.
The African Energy Chamber reports that subsea tie-backs and brownfield expansions are the biggest drivers of future upstream developments on the continent. Because such projects are cheaper, they are the most likely to get sanctioned under current market conditions, and remain the fastest way to reserve sub-Saharan Africa’s production decline, it says. As Ghana still works on sanctioning a new development plan for its flagship Pecan field, the upcoming development of Afina provides a great opportunity to maintain upstream momentum in the market, it concludes.
Photo: African Energy Chamber/Springfield E&P
