Eni announced yesterday that it has entered Ghana through the acquisition of majority stakes in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) and Offshore Cape Three Points South (OCTPS) exploration licences.
Eni’s entry into these licences follows agreement reached with Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited (“VUGL”), part of the Vitol Group, to assign a majority interest in both licenses to Eni and to transfer both operatorships. The new license participating interests, which will be the same for both blocks, will be Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Limited 47.22% (and operator); VUGL 37.78%; and state company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) 15.00%. Stellar Energy Advisors Limited acted as advisor to VUGL in connection with the transaction.
During June and July 2009 VUGL, in partnership with GNPC and Eni, operated the Sankofa-1 well in the OCTP block in a water depth of 850 metres. The well encountered high-quality reservoir sands containing 36 metres (net) of oil and gas. Both blocks lie in the prolific Tano/Cape Three Points oil basin, which has recently yielded some of the biggest offshore discoveries yet made in Africa. The Sankofa discovery is located some 35km east of the Jubilee field.
Chris Joly, Vitol’s Upstream Manager, commenting on the agreement with Eni, said “We are delighted to be teaming up with Eni in Ghana at this exciting time. Eni brings world-class operating capability to the partnership, and we are strongly aligned in our view of the prospectivity of our blocks and in our ambition to expedite their exploration and development, starting with our recent Sankofa discovery. Vitol has been an investor in Ghana’s energy sector for more than 15 years and we recognised that teaming up with a major company with leading-edge technical know-how and operational capabilities, including in the LNG and power generation businesses, would benefit the nation. We are therefore very pleased that the Minister has approved this assignment.”
For further information:
Finsbury Group – Andrew Mitchell: + 44 207 251 3801