Ghana’s oil sector isn’t dying: it’s resetting
Ghana’s oil and gas sectors is not dying; it is evolving, repog, and opening new frontiers for investors seeking stability and long-term value in West Africa.
Despite global shifts in energy transition, Ghana remains a dependable petroleum hub with significant unexplored potential, a clear fiscal regime, and a government that continues to pursue investor-friendly reforms and infrastructure expansion.
Today, the Petroleum Commission (PC) and the Ministry of Energy have made available several high-potential acreages for farm-in and new exploration.
These include the Offshore Cape
Three Points South Block covering about 755 square kilometers, the Shallow Water Cape Three Points Block with 1,508 square kilometers, the South West Saltpond Block of 2,050 square kilometers, and the South Deepwater Tano Block stretching across 3,482 square kilometers.
In addition, the Expanded Shallow Water Tano Block (1,500 square kilometers) and Offshore South West Tano (175 square kilometers) present accessible opportunities for companies seeking to balance cost efficiency with production potential.
Ghana’s onshore exploration is equally promising. The Voltaian Basin, covering a significant portion of the middle belt of the country, now stands out as the frontier of new hydrocarbon discovery.
Over 5,373 kilometers of 2D seismic data have been acquired, leading to the identification of 29 promising leads, with an exploratory well planned for drilling in 2025.
It is a major step in diversifying Ghana’s resource base and establishing an inland petroleum province for the first time in the nation’s history.
Beyond geological promise, Ghana’s fiscal and regulatory framework makes investment both predictable and rewarding.
The country operates a transparent petroleum contract system underpinned by clear fiscal terms, including royalties ranging from four to 12.5 per cent for oil and three to 10 per cent for gas, a 35 per cent corporate tax rate, and the allowance for both operating and capital expenditure recovery.
The Additional Oil Entitlement (AOE) mechanism ensures fair sharing while maintaining investor profitability.
These parameters have proven workable over time, attracting world-class operators such as Tullow, Eni, and Kosmos Energy, and giving new entrants the confidence to plan long-term operations without fiscal surprises.
Institutionally, Ghana has demonstrated steady commitment to upstream development.
The PC continues to update its data management systems, streamline licensing procedures and promote transparency in operations.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to investor protection, contract sanctity, and open data access.
Recent reforms have improved the speed of licence approvals, created room for flexible contract extensions, and provided clarity for new entrants in both shallow and deepwater environments.
These are the kinds of assurances that investors in today’s competitive global environment look for.
Infrastructure
In addition to regulatory clarity, Ghana’s strong base of infrastructure in the Western Region supports quick field development and export. Existing offshore fields such as Jubilee, TEN, and Sankofa provide operational experience and readily available subsea and processing infrastructure, which reduce the cost and time required to bring new discoveries to production.
The presence of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant, the upcoming Second Gas Processing Plant, and the revamping of the Tema Oil Refinery together reinforce the completeness of Ghana’s petroleum value chain, from extraction and processing to refining and marketing.
Investors
Investors can, therefore, count on a stable operational ecosystem supported by both local and international service companies, skilled human resources, and a government policy that continues to balance local content growth with profitability.
The sector is also receiving renewed attention through enhanced data acquisition, digital licensing systems, and fiscal reform to encourage new entrants.
Joseph Mensah (JM-Safety),
Agona Nkwanta, Western Region.
E-mail: safetymensa@gmail.com