ExxonMobil\u2019s investment in the oil sector becomes the first major one in Ghana following the landmark ruling by ITLOS in the maritime border dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast, in September last year.<\/p>\n
The apparent victory by Ghana gives the country an appreciable reputation among the global oil giants.<\/p>\n
The Energy Minister, BoakyeAgyarko explains to\u00a0Citi Business News<\/strong>\u00a0the move is set to trigger further investments in the short to medium term.<\/p>\n \u201cExxon Mobil is coming in with the highest standard of safety, financial accounting and all that we need to get done as a country\u2026we have received a lot of expression of interests from other major players; the BP, Shell, Chevron, among others. All of them are now coming to operate in Ghana,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n On his part, the CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr. K.K. Sarpong, stressed the enforcement of local content policies.<\/p>\n In his view, the plan will give Ghanaians access to opportunities in Exxon Mobil\u2019s operations where necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of local content policies, the laws have been strengthened the Petroleum Commission is at the forefront of enforcing the laws and we at GNPC have the sustainability and localization department which tries to make sure that we bring our partner\u2019s attention to the mode of operation so that we take advantage to get benefits from our local people both corporate and individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n ExxonMobil joins other operators in Ghana\u2019s petroleum upstream sector including, Tullow, Kosmos, ENI, among others.<\/p>\n Earlier, some industry analysts raised concern over the Energy Minister\u2019s failure to subject the contract to competitive bidding as spelt out in the Petroleum Exploration and Production law.<\/p>\n Reacting to this however, the Energy Minister maintained that the negotiations started before the passage of the law, it couldn\u2019t have taken retrospective effect.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were four issues which put the negotiations into abeyance; they bordered on the treatment of foreign exchange, tax issues, among others. When we came in in 2017, the company approached us again and expressed their interest to revive the negotiations with the country but outlined the need to work around the issues so it could pave the way for their operations,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n \u201cExxonMobil started its program of operating in Ghana before the passage of the E&P law was passed in 2016 as such the law could not take a retrospective effect,\u201d Mr. Agyarko added.<\/p>\n The company is expected to start its exploration activities fully after Parliament ratifies the deal.<\/p>\n Ghanaian ownership is estimated at thirty percent.<\/p>\n This comprises 10 percent royalty to the government of Ghana while the GNPC owns 15 percent stake as Carried and Participation Interest.<\/p>\n Also, the local partner for ExxonMobil is entitled to five percent of the company\u2019s stake.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Pius AmihereEduku\/citibusinessnews.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Government is anticipating increased activities in Ghana\u2019s oil exploration activities with the coming on board of ExxonMobil. The Minister of Energy, BoakyeAgyarko tells\u00a0Citi Business News\u00a0the move will also increase government\u2019s revenue from the sector to propel economic growth and transformation. ExxonMobil\u2019s investment in the oil sector becomes the first major one in Ghana following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":392771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,171,170,11],"tags":[16073,2002,1069,2642],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Exxon](\"http:\/\/citibusinessnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Exxon-4.jpeg\")
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