GAPNEWS


 MAHAMA GOVERNMENT BLEW OIL MONEY ON 2016 ELECTION.

A propaganda campaign by the National Democratic Congress Minority in Parliament to try to convince Ghanaians that there has not been any new oil discovery in the country as announced recently by Aker Energy has been exposed. Indeed, facts made available to the Daily Statesman show that the NDC under John Mahama blocked the work of oil exploration companies and bled Ghana interests in joint oil ventures near dry.

The cash Mahama and his lieutenants raised from sucking the blood of the oil companies is what they then tried to use to buy the 2016 elections. Documents sighted by the Daily Statesman show how huge unallocated sums were spent on inflated road contracts, including non-existent cocoa feeder roads. Most of these contracts were sole-sourced to NDC cronies ‒ diverting resources that should have been used to develop Ghana’s young oil industry.

Aker Energy ASA, a Norwegian company, announced last week that based on existing sub-surface data from seismic wells drilled and an analysis of findings from the Pecan-4A well, the field contains an estimated 450-550 million barrels of oil equivalent. Production from this well alone could double Ghana’s oil output in the very near future.

On Monday, following the announcement, the Minority group in Parliament held a press conference and claimed that the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block discovery was rather made under the NDC government between 2011 and 2013 by a company called Hess, and so former President John Mahama should take credit for it.

NDC frustrates Hess

But the facts show that the US-based Hess, whose Ghanaian subsidiary was originally awarded the contract to develop the oil block by John Agyekum Kufuor’s government in 2006, could not develop DWT/CTP. This was before Kosmos and Tullow became involved in Ghana’s oil industry.Hess subsequently announced that it had made a number of discoveries under its licence of oil and gas totalling 230 million barrels. But the Mills government could not develop it. Even with oil at $100, President Mahama could not develop it. In effect, not a single new oil well was developed in all eight years under the NDC.

Between 2012 and 2016 Hess sought unsuccessfully to appraise the Pecan field and agree terms with the government on a feasible development plan.
Frustrated by the lack of progress under the NDC governments of the time, Hess Corp eventually found a more lucrative business to do with ExxonMobil in Guyana and decided to sell its interest to Aker Energy.

Coincidentally, Aker had been kicked out by the NDC government in 2010.

Aker in

Following discussions with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) last year, Aker announced its acquisition of Hess’s interest in the DWT/CTP licence.
Together with its partners, and working closely with the Petroleum Commission and GNPC, Aker quickly undertook preparations for an extensive drilling programme which led to the latest discoveries.

Aker Energy believes what it has found could add up to a billion barrels to Ghana’s oil output, three times the maximum estimate Hess believed the block contained.

GNPC’s $47m

At its press conference, the NDC questioned the whereabouts of $47 million approved by Parliament, and subsequently transferred to GNPC, to purchase a 10 per cent share of Hess Ghana in 2015.

Generally under the immediate past government, GNPC received significantly less than the allocated budgeted amount it was due. Most of what was made available was used to cover operating costs.

Over the past four years, GNPC’s yearly receipts from the government have been far lower than budgeted. Roughly US$684 million was received between 2015 and 2018, as against a budget of nearly $2.78 billion, an average of just 24.6 per cent of the expected receipts.

Amounts allocated to GNPC are for specific programmes, as outlined in its annual work programme approved by Parliament.

An allocation of the $47m for the acquisition of 10 per cent exploration company shares in the Hess/Aker block was made in 2015. But that year, at the peak of the power supply crisis, the NDC government compelled GNPC to utilise its $100m earnings to back a guarantee in favour of Karpower on behalf of Electricity Company of Ghana.

The government also demanded and was paid an amount of $50m by GNPC in 2016 which has not yet been refunded to the corporation.

Value cut in half

Between 2015 and 2017, more than $30m was expended by GNPC on behalf of the government by way of the payment for certificates issued in respect of construction of the Western Corridor roads. This amount has also not been refunded to GNPC.

Having used nearly $200m of GNPC’s inflows on activities prescribed by the NDC government, it was not possible for the corporation to meet cash calls from Hess related to its shares in the exploration company.

At the time the shares were offered to Aker Energy by Hess, the 50 per cent interest offered amounted to $100m. It would have been imprudent for GNPC to pay an accumulated $51m from cash calls for a 10 per cent stake valued at $20m – making the total interest worth $200m.

Subsequently, during the 2016 election year, the NDC spent $50m of GNPC’s budget on roads and other items that did not have budgetary approval.